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THE  AMERICAN   RAILWAY 


THE    LAST    SPAN— READY   TO   JOIN, 


The  American  Railway 


ITS    CONSTRUCTION,  DEVELOPMENT, 
MANAGEMENT,  AND  APPLIANCES 


BY 

THOMAS   CURTIS   CLARKE  THEODORE    VOORHEES 
JOHN    BOGART  BENJAMIN    NORTON 

M.   N.   FORNEY  ARTHUR    T.   HADLEY 

E.   P.  ALEXANDER  THOMAS    L.  JAMES 

H.  G.   PROUT  CHARLES    FRANCIS   ADAMS 

HORACE  PORTER  B.   B.  ADAMS,  JR. 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

THOMAS    M.   COOLEY 

CHAIRMAN    OF    INTERSTATE   COMMERCE    COMMISSION 


WITH  MORE    TBA.V  200  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1889 


Copyright,  1888,  1889,  by 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 


TROWS 
PRINTING  AND   BOOKBINDING  COMPANY, 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xxi 

By  THOMAS   M.  COOLEY, 

Chairman  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 


THE   BUILDING   OF  A   RAILWAY 


By   THOMAS   CURTIS   CLARKE, 

Civil  Engineer. 

Roman  Tramways  of  Stone — First  Use  of  Iron  Rails — The  Modern  Railway 
created  by  Stephenson's  "Rocket"  in  1830 — Early  American  Locomo- 
tives— Key  to  the  Evolution  of  the  American  Railway — Invention  of  the 
Swivelling  Truck,  Equalizing  Beams,  and  the  Switchback — Locating  a  Road 
— Work  of  the  Surveying  Party — Making  the  Road-bed — How  Tunnels  are 
Avoided — More  than  Three  Thousand  Bridges  in  the  United  States — Old 
Wooden  Structures — The  Howe  Truss — The  Use  of  Iron — Viaducts  of  Steel 
—The  American  System  of  Laying  Bridge  Foundations  under  Water — 
Origin  of  the  Cantilever — Laying  the  Track — How  it  is  Kept  in  Repair — 
Premiums  for  Section  Bosses — Number  of  Railway  Employees  in  the 
United  States — Rapid  Railway  Construction — Radical  Changes  which  the 
Railway  will  Effect. 


FEATS   OF   RAILWAY  ENGINEERING 47 

By   JOHN    BOGART, 

State  Engineer  of  New  York. 

Development  of  the  Rail  —  Problems  for  the  Engineer  —  How  Heights  are 
Climbed — The  Use  of  Trestles — Construction  on  a  Mountain  Side — Engi- 
neering on  Rope  Ladders — Through  the  Portals  of  a  Canon — Feats  on  the 
Oroya  Railroad,  Peru — Nochistongo  Cut — Rack  Rails  for  Heavy  Grades — 
Difficulties  in  Tunnel  Construction — Bridge  Foundations — Cribs  and  Pneu- 
matic Caissons — How  Men  work  under  Water — The  Construction  of  Stone 


vill  CONTENTS. 


Arches — Wood  and  Iron  in  Bridge-building — Great  Suspension  Bridges — 
The  Niagara  Cantilever  and  the  enormous  Forth  Bridge — Elevated  and 
Underground  Roads — Responsibilities  of  the  Civil  Engineer. 


AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVES   AND   CARS loo 

By    M.  N.   FORNEY, 

Author  of  "  The  Catechism  of  the  Locomotive,''  Editor  ^^ Railroad  and  Engineering 

Journal,''  New  York. 

The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  in  1830 — Evolution  of  the  Car  from  the  Con- 
estoga  Wagon — Horatio  Allen's  Trial  Trip — The  First  Locomotive  used  in 
the  United  States — Peter  Cooper's  Race  with  a  Gray  Horse — The  "  De 
Witt  Chnton,"  "  Planet,"  and  other  Early  Types  of  Locomotives — Equaliz- 
ing Levers — How  Steam  is  Made  and  Controlled — The  Boiler,  Cylinder, 
Injector,  and  Valve  Gear — Regulation  of  the  Capacity  of  a  Locomotive  to 
Draw — Increase  in  the  Number  of  Driving  Wheels — Modern  Types  of 
Locomotives — Variation  in  the  Rate  of  Speed — The  Appliances  by  which 
an  Engine  is  Governed — Round-houses  and  Shops — Development  of  Amer- 
ican Cars — An  Illustration  from  Peter  Parley — The  Survival  of  Stage  Coach 
Bodies — Adoption  of  the  Rectangular  Shape — The  Origin  of  Eight-wheeled 
Cars — Improvement  in  Car  Coupling — A  Uniform  Type  Recommended — 
The  Making  of  Wheels — Relative  Merits  of  Cast  and  Wrought  Iron,  and 
Steel — The  Allen  Paper  Wheel — Types  of  Cars,  with  Size,  Weight,  and 
Price — The  Car-Builder's  Dictionary — Statistical. 


RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT 149 

By  Gen.  E.    P.  ALEXANDER, 

President  of  the  Central  Railroad  and  Banking  Company  of  Georgia. 

Relations  of  Railway  Management  to  all  Other  Pursuits — Developed  by  the  Ne- 
cessities of  a  Complex  Industrial  Life — How  a  Continuous  Life  is  Given  to  a 
Corporation — Its  Artificial  Memory — Main  Divisions  of  Railway  Manage- 
ment— The  Executive  and  Legislative  Powers — The  Purchasing  and  Supply 
Departments — Importance  of  the  Legal  Department — How  the  Roadway 
is  Kept  in  Repair — The  Maintenance  of  Rolling  Stock — Schedule-making 
— The  Handling  of  Extra  Trains — Duties  of  the  Train-despatcher — Acci- 
dents in  Spite  of  Precautions — Daily  Distribution  of  Cars — How  Business  is 
Secured  and  Rates  are  Fixed — The  Interstate  Commerce  Law — The  Ques- 
tions of  "Long  and  Short  Hauls"  and  "Differentials" — Classification  of 
Freight — Regulation  of  Passenger-rates — Work  of  Soliciting  Agents— The 
Collection  of  Revenue  and  Statistics — What  is  a  Way-bill — How  Disburse- 
ments are  Made — The  Social  and  Industrial  Problem  which  Confronts  Rail- 
way Corporations. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

SAFETY    IN    RAILROAD   TRAVEL 187 

By  H.  G.  PROUT, 

Editor  '•'■Railroad  Gazette,''  Netv  York. 

The  Possibilities  of  Destruction  in  the  Great  Speed  of  a  Locomotive — The 
Energy  of  Four  Hundred  Tons  Moving  at  Seventy-five  Miles  an  Hour — A 
Look  ahead  from  a  Locomotive  at  Night — Passengers  Killed  and  Injured 
in  One  Year — Good  Discipline  the  Great  Source  of  Safety — The  Part 
Played  by  Mechanical  Appliances — Hand-brakes  on  Old  Cars — How  the 
Air-brake  Works — The  Electric  Brake — Improvements  yet  to  be  Made — 
Engine  Driver  Brakes — Two  Classes  of  Signals  :  those  which  Protect  Points 
of  Danger,  and  those  which  Keep  an  Interval  between  Trains  on  the  Same 
Track — The  Semaphore — Interlocking  Signals  and  Switches — Electric  An- 
nunciators to  Indicate  the  Movements — The  Block  Signal  System — Protec- 
tion for  Crossings — Gates  and  Gongs — How  Derailment  is  Guarded  Against 
— Safety  Bolts  — Automatic  Couplers — The  Vestibule  as  a  Safety  Appliance 
— Car  Heating  and  Lighting. 

RAILWAY   PASSENGER  TRAVEL 228 

By    Gen.   HORACE    PORTER, 

Vice-President  Pullman  Palace-Car  Company. 

The  Earliest  Railway  Passenger  Advertisement — The  First  Time-table  Pub- 
lished in  America — The  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Train — Survival  of  Stage- 
coach Terms  in  English  Railway  Nomenclature — Simon  Cameron's  Rash 
Prediction — Discomforts  of  Early  Cars — Introduction  of  Air-brakes,  Patent 
Buffers  and  Couplers,  the  Bell-cord,  and  Interlocking  Switches — The  First 
Sleeping-cars — Mr.  Pullman's  Experiments — The  "Pioneer" — Introduc- 
tion of  Parlor  and  Drawing-room  Cars — The  Demand  for  Dining-cars — In- 
genious Devices  for  Heating  Cars — Origin  of  Vestibule-cars — An  Impor- 
tant Safety  Appliance — The  Luxuries  of  a  Limited  Express — Fast  Time 
in  America  and  England — Sleeping-cars  for  Immigrants — The  Village  of 
Pullman— The  Largest  Car-works  in  the  World — Baggage-checks  and 
Coupon  Tickets — Conveniences  in  a  Modern  Depot — Statistics  in  Regard 
to  Accidents — Proportion  of  Passengers  in  Various  Classes — Comparison 
of  Rates  in  the  Leading  Countries  of  the  World. 


THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE 267 

By   THEODORE   VOORHEES, 

Assistant-General  Superintendent,  New  York  Central  Railroad. 

Sixteen  Months'  Journey  of  a  Car — Detentions  by  the  Way — Difficulties  of  the 
Car  Accountant's  Office — Necessities  of  Through  Freight — How  a  Com- 
pany's  Cars   are   Scattered — The  Question  of  Mileage — Reduction  of  the 


CONTENTS. 


Balance  in  Favor  of  Other  Roads — Relation  of  the  Car  Accountant's  Work 
to  the  Transportation  Department — Computation  of  Mileage — The  Record 
Branch — How  Reports  are  Gathered  and  Compiled — Exchange  of  "  Junc- 
tion Cards" — The  Use  of  "  Tracers" — Distribution  of  Empty  Cars — Con- 
trol of  the  Movement  of  Freight— How  Trains  are  Made  Up— Duties  of 
the  Yardmaster — The  Handling  of  Through  Trains— Organization  of  Fast 
Lines — Transfer  Freight  Houses — Special  Cars  for  Specific  Service — Dis- 
asters to  Freight  Trains — How  the  Companies  Suffer — Inequalities  in  Pay- 
ment for  Car  Service— The  Per  Diem  Plan— A  Uniform  Charge  for  Car 
Rental — What  Reforms  might  be  Accomplished. 


HOW   TO    FEED   A    RAILWAY 298 

By    benjamin    NORTON, 

Second  Vice-President,  Long  Island  Railroad  Company. 

The  Many  Necessities  of  a  Modern  Railway — The  Purchasing  and  Supply  De- 
partments— Comparison  with  the  Commissary  Department  of  an  Army — 
Financial  Importance— Immense  Expenditures — The  General  Storehouse — 
Duties  of  the  Purchasing  Agent  —The  Best  Material  the  Cheapest— Profits 
from  the  Scrap-heap— Old  Rails  Worked  over  into  New  Implements— Yearly 
Contracts  for  Staple  Articles— Economy  in  Fuel— Tests  by  the  Best  En- 
gineers and  Firemen— The  Stationery  Supply— Aggregate  Annual  Cost  of 
Envelopes,  Tickets,  and  Time-tables— The  Average  Life  of  Rails— Dura- 
bility of  Cross-ties— What  it  Costs  per  Mile  to  Run  an  Engine— The  Pay- 
master's Duties — Scenes  during  the  Trip  of  a  Pay-car. 


THE    RAILWAY   MAIL  SERVICE 312 

By   THOMAS   L.  JAMES, 
Ex-Postmaster  General. 

An  Object  Lesson  in  Postal  Progress — Nearness  of  the  Department  to  the  Peo- 
ple—The First  Travelling  Post-Office  in  the  United  States— Organization 
of  the  Department  in  1789— Early  Mail  Contracts— All  Railroads  made 
Post-routes — Compartments  for  Mail  Clerks  in  Baggage-cars — Origin  of  the 
Present  System  in  1862— Important  Work  of  Colonel  George  S.  Bangs — 
The  "  Fast  Mail"  between  New  York  and  Chicago— Why  it  was  Suspended 
— Resumption  in  1877— Present  Condition  of  the  Service — Statistics— A 
Ride  on  the  "  Fast  Mail"— Busy  Scenes  at  the  Grand  Central .  Depot- 
Special  Uses  of  the  Five  Cars— Duties  of  the  Clerks— How  the  Work  is 
Performed— Annual  Appropriation  for  Special  Mail  Facilities— Dangers 
Threatening  the  Railway  Mail  Clerk's  Life— An  Insurance  Fund  Proposed 
—Needs  of  the  Service— A  Plea  for  Radical  Civil  Service  Reform. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

THE   RAILWAY   IN   ITS   BUSINESS    RELATIONS ^44 

By   ARTHUR    T.   HADLEY, 

Professor  of  Political  Science  in  Yale  College,  Author  of  "  Railroad  Transportation."' 

Amount  of  Capital  Invested  in  Railways — Important  Place  in  the  Modern  In- 
dustrial System— The  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  Foresight — The  Growth  of 
Half  a  Century — Early  Methods  of  Business  Management — The  Tendency 
toward  Consolidation — How  the  War  Developed  a  National  Idea — Its  Effect 
on  Railroad  Building — Thomson  and  Scott  as  Organizers — Vanderbilt's 
Capacity  for  Financial  Management — Garrett's  Development  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio — The  Concentration  of  Immense  Power  in  a  Few  Men — 
Making  Money  out  of  the  Investors — Difficult  Positions  of  Stockholders  and 
Bondholders — How  the  Finances  are  Manipulated  by  the  Board  of  Directors 
— Temptations  to  the  Misuse  of  Power — Relations  of  Railroads  to  the  Pub- 
lic who  Use  Them — Inequalities  in  Freight  Rates — Undue  Advantages  for 
Large  Trade  Centres — Proposed  Remedies — Objections  to  Government 
Control — Failure  of  Grangerism — The  Origin  of  Pools — Their  Advantages 
— Albert  Fink's  Great  Work — Charles  Francis  Adams  and  the  Massachu- 
setts Commission — Adoption  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law — Important 
Influence  of  the  Commission — Its  Future  Functions — Ill-judged  State  Leg- 
islation. 

THE   PREVENTION   OF   RAILWAY   STRIKES 370 

By  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

President  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

Railways  the  Largest  Single  Interest  in  the  United  States — Some  Impressive 
Statistics — Growth  of  a  Complex  Organization — Five  Divisions  of  Neces- 
sary Work — Other  Special  Departments — Importance  of  the  Operating 
Department — The  Evil  of  Strikes — To  be  Remedied  by  Thorough  Organi- 
zation— Not  the  Ordinary  Relation  between  Employer  and  Employee — Of 
what  the  Model  Railway  Service  Should  Consist — Temporary  and  Perma- 
nent Employees- — Promotion  from  one  Grade  to  the  Other — Rights  and 
Privileges  of  the  Permanent  Service — Employment  during  Good  Behavior 
— Proposed  Tribunal  for  Adjusting  Differences  and  Enforcing  Discipline- — 
A  Regular  Advance  in  Pay  for  Faithful  Service — A  Fund  for  Hospital 
Service,  Pensions,  and  Insurance — Railroad  Educational  Institutions — The 
Employer  to  Have  a  Voice  in  Management  through  a  Council — A  System 
of  Representation. 

THE   EVERY-DAY   LIFE   OF   RAILROAD   MEN  383 

By  B.  B.  ADAMS,  Jr., 

Associate  Editor,  '■'■Railroad  Gazette"  New  York. 

The  Typical  Railroad  Man — On  the  Road  and  at  Home — Raising  the  Moral 
Standard — Characteristics  of  the  Freight  Brakeman — His  Wit  the  Result  of 


xil  CONTENTS. 


Meditation — How  Slang  is  Originated — Agreeable  Features  of  his  Life  in 
Fine  Weather — Hardships  in  Winter — The  Perils  of  Hand-brakes— Broken 
Trains — Going  back  to  Flag — Coupling  Accidents — At  the  Spring — Advan- 
tages of  a  Passenger  Brakeman — Trials  of  the  Freight  Conductor — The 
Investigation  of  Accidents — Irregular  Hours  of  Work — The  Locomotive 
Engineer  the  Hero  of  the  Rail — His  Rare  Qualities — The  Value  of  Quick 
Judgment — Calm  Fidelity  a  Necessary  Trait — Saving  Fuel  on  a  Freight  En- 
gine— Making  Time  on  a  Passenger  Engine — Remarkable  Runs — The  Spirit 
of  Fraternity  among  Engineers — Difficult  Duties  of  a  Passenger-train  Con- 
ductor— Tact  in  Dealing  with  Many  People — Questions  to  be  Answered  * 
— How  Rough  Characters  are  Dealt  with — Heavy  Responsibilities — The 
Work  of  a  Station  Agent — Flirtation  by  Telegraph — The  Baggage-master's 
Hard  Task — Eternal  Vigilance  Necessary  in  a  Switch-tender — Section- 
men,  Train  Despatchers,  Firemen,  and  Clerks — Efforts  to  Make  the  Rail- 
road Man's  Life  Easier. 

STATISTICAL  RAILWAY   STUDIES 425 

ILLUSTRATED    WITH    THIRTEEN    MAPS   AND    NINETEEN    CHARTS. 

By    FLETCHER    W.    HEWES. 

Author  of  "  Scribners  Statistical  Atlas." 

Railway  Mileage  of  the  World — Railway  Mileage  of  the  United  States — Annual 
Mileage  and  Increase — Mileage  compared  with  Area — Geographical  Loca- 
tion of  Railways — Centres  of  Mileage  and  of  Population — Railway  Systems 
— Trunk  Lines  Compared  :  By  Mileage  ;  Largest  Receipts  ;  Largest  Net  Re- 
sults— Freight  Traffic — Reduction  of  Freight  Rates — Wheat  Rates — The 
Freight  Haul — Empty  Freight  Trains — Freight  Profits — Passenger  Traffic — 
Passenger  Rates  — Passenger  Travel — Passenger  Profits  —  General  Con- 
siderations— Dividends — Net  Earnings  per  Mile  and  Railway  Building — 
Ratios  of  Increase— Construction  and  Maintenance — Employees  and  their 
Wages  —  Rolling  Stock — Capital  Invested. 


INDEX 449 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FULL-PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Title.  Designer.                               Page 

The  Last  Span  (Frontispiece) A.  B.  Frost v 

Alpine  Pass.    Avoidance  of  a  Tunnel From  a  photograph    .    .      5 

Big    Loop,   Georgetown   Branch    of   the   Union 

Pacific,  Colorado From  a  photograph    .    .     11 

Snow-sheds,  Selkirk  Mountains,   Canadian   Pa- 
cific      J.  D.  Woodward     ...     19 

Rail  Making Walter  Shirlaw  ....     39 

Loop  and   Great  Trestle  near  Hagerman's,  on 

THE  Colorado  Midland  Railway J.  D.  Woodward    ...     51 

Portal  of  a  Tunnel  in  Process  of  Construc- 
tion     Otto  Stark 65 

At  Work  in  a   Pneumatic   Caisson — Fifty  Feet 

below  THE  Surface  of  the  Water Walter  Shirlaw  ....    73 

Below  the  Brooklyn  Bridge J.  H.  Twachtman  ...    83 

The  St.  Louis  Bridge  during  Construction    .    .  M.  E.  Sands  &  R.  Blum  .     95 

A  Typical  American  Passenger  Locomotive    .     .  From  a  photograph    .    .111 

Interior  of  a  Round-house M.  J.  Burns 130 

View  in  Locomotive  Erecting  Shop J.  D.Woodward  &R.  Blum  135 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Title.  Designer.                               Page 

Diagram  Used  in  Making  Railway  Time-Tables i6i 

The  General  Despatcher M.  J.  Burns 165 

Mantua  Junction,  West  Philadelphia,  showing 

A  Complex  System  of  Interlacing  Tracks  .     .  W.  C.  Fitler      ....  169 

Danger  Ahead  ! A.  B.  Frost     .    .        .    .  189 

Interlocking  Apparatus  for  Operating  Switches 
and    Signals    by    Compressed    Air,    Pittsburg 

Yards,  Pennsylvania  Railroad From  a  photograph    .    .211 

Pullman  Vestibuled  Cars From  a  photograph    .     .  247 

In  a  Baggage-room W.  C.  Broughton    .    .     .  255 

"Show  Your  Tickets!" Walter  Shirlaw .     .     .    .  261 

Freight  Yards  of  the  New  York  Central  & 
Hudson  River  Railroad,  West  Sixty  -  fifth 
Street,  New  York W.  C.  Fitler 285 

Freight  from  all  Quarters  —  Some  Typical 
Trains W^  C.  Fitler 291 

At  A  Way-station — The  Postmaster's  Assistant  .  Herbert  Denman    .    .     .321 

Transfer  of  Mail  at  the  Grand  Central  Sta- 
tion, New  York Herbert  Denman    .     .     .  327 

Sorting  Letters  in  Car  No.  i— The  Fast  Mail  .     .  Herbert  Denman    .     .     .333 

A  Breakdown  on  the  Road A.  B.  Frost 405 

In  the  Waiting  Room  of  a  Country  Station      .    A.  B.  Frost 413 

The  Trials  of  a  Baggage-master A.  B.  Frost 417 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xv 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT. 

PAGE 

First  Locomotive 2 

Locomotive  of  To-day 3 

A  Sharp  Curve — Manhattan  Elevated  Railway,  i  loth  Street,  New  York 7 

A  Steep  Grade  on  a  Mountain  Railroad 8 

A  Switchback o 

Plan  of  Big  Loop 10 

Profile  of  the  Same 10 

Engineers  in  Camp 14 

Royal  Gorge  Hanging  Bridge,  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  Colorado 16 

Veta  Pass,  Colorado 17 

Sections  of  Snow-sheds  (3  cuts) 18 

Making  an  Embankment 21 

Steam  Excavator 21 

Building  a  Culvert 22 

Building  a  Bridge  Abutment 22 

Rock  Drill 23 

A  Construction  and  Boarding  Train 24 

Bergen  Tunnels,  Hoboken,  N.  J. . . : 25 

Beginning  a  Tunnel 26 

Old  Burr  Wooden  Bridge 28 

Kinzua  Viaduct  ;   Erie  Railway 30 


Kinzua  Viaduct. 


31 


View  of  Thomas  Pope's  Proposed  Cantilever  (1810) 34 

Pope's  Cantilever  in  Process  of  Erection 35 

General  View  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Bridge 36 

Erection  of  a  Cantilever 37 

Spiking  the  Track 38 

Track  Laying   41 

Temporary  Railway  Crossing  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  Ice 44 

View  Down  the  Blue  from  Rocky  Point,  Denver,  South  Park  and  Pacific  Railroad  ; 

showing  successive  tiers  of  railway 49 

Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  Entering  the  Portals  of  the  Grand  River  Canon, 

Colorado 54 

The  Kentucky  River  Cantilever,  on  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railway 55 

Truss  over  Ravine,  and  Tunnel,  Oroya  Railroad,  Peru 56 

The  Nochistongo  Cut,  Mexican  Central  Railway 57 

The  Mount  Washington  Rack  Railroad 58 

Trestle  on  Portland  and  Ogdensburg  Railway,  Crawford  Notch,  White  Mountains.  .  58 

A  Series  of  Tunnels ". 59 


XVI  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Tunnel  at  the  Foot  of  Mount  St.  Stephen,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 60 

Pena  de  Mora  on  the  La  Guayra  and  Caracas  Railway,  Venezuela 61 

Perspective  View  of  St.  Gothard  Spiral  Tunnels,  in  the  Alps 62 

Plan  of  St.  Gothard  Spiral  Tunnels 63 

Profile  of  the  Same •. 63 

Portal  of  a  Finished  Tunnel  ;  showing  Cameron's  Cone,  Colorado 64 

Railway  Pass  at  Rocky  Point  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 67 

Bridge  Pier  Founded  on  Piles 68 

Pneumatic  Caisson 70 

Transverse  Section  of  Pneumatic  Caisson 71 

Pier  of  Hawkesbury  Bridge,  Australia 75 

Foundation  Crib  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Bridge 76 

Transverse  Section  of  the  Same 76 

Granite  Arched  Approach  to  Harlem  River  Bridge  in  Process  of  Construction 77 

The  Old  Portage  Viaduct,  Erie  Railway,  N.  Y 78 

The  New  Portage  Viaduct 79 

The  Britannia  Tubular  Bridge  over  the  Menai  Straits,  North  Wales 80 

Old  Stone  Towers  of  the  Niagara  Suspension  Bridge 82 

The  New  Iron  Towers  of  the  Same 82 

Truss  Bridge  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  over  the  Missouri  River  at  Bismarck, 

Dak. — Testing  the  Central  Span 87 

Curved  Viaduct,  Georgetown,  Col.  ;  the  Union  Pacific  Crossing  its  own  Line 88 

The  Niagara  Cantilever  Bridge  in  Progress 90 

The  Niagara  Cantilever  Bridge  Completed 91 

The  Lachine  Bridge,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  near  Montreal,  Canada 92 

The  510-feet  Span  Steel  Arches  of  the  New  Harlem  River  Bridge,  New  York,  during 

Construction 97 

London  Underground  Railway  Station 98 

Conestoga  Wagon  and  Team loi 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  1830-35 loi 

Boston  &  Worcester  Railroad,  1835 102 

Horatio  Allen 103 

Peter  Cooper's  Locomotive,  1830 104 

"  South  Carolina,"  1831,  and  Plan  of  its  Running  Gear 105 

The  "  De  Witt  Clinton,"  1831 105 

"  Grasshopper  "  Locomotive 106 

The  "  Planet  " 107 

John  B.  Jervis's  Locomotive,  1831,  and  Plan  of  its  Running  Gear 108 

Campbell's  Locomotive 109 

Locomotive  for  Suburban  Traffic no 

Locomotive  for  Street  Railway no 

Four-wheeled  Switching  Locomotive 113 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xvii 


Transverse  Section. 


PAGE 


Driving  Wheels,  Frames,  Spurs,  etc. ,  of  American  Locomotive 114 

Longitudinal  Section  of  a  Locomotive  Boiler 115 


15 


Rudimentary  Injector 116 

Injector  Used  on  Locomotives 117 

Sections  of  a  Locomotive  Cylinder 118 

Eccentric 

Eccentric  and  Strap 

Valve  Gear 

Turning  Locomotive  Tires 

Six-wheeled  Switching  Locomotive 

Mogul  Locomotive 

Ten-wheeled  Passenger  Locomotive 

Consolidation  Locomotive  (unfinished) 

Consolidation  Locomotive 

Decapod  Locomotive 

"  Forney  "  Tank  Locomotive 

* '  Hudson  "  Tank  Locomotive 

Camden  &  Amboy  Locomotive,  1 848 

Cab  End  of  a  Locomotive  and  its  Attachments 

Interior  of  Erecting  Shop,  showing  Locomotive  Lifted  by  Travelling  Crane 

Forging  a  Locomotive  Frame 

Mohawk  &  Hudson  Car,  1831 

Early  Car 

Early  Car  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 

Early  American  Car,  1 834 

Old  Car  for  Carrying  Flour  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 

Old  Car  for  Carrying  Firewood  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 

Old  Car  on  the  Ouincy  Granite  Railroad 

Janney  Car  Coupler,  showing  the  Process  of  Coupling 

Mould  and  Flask  in  which  Wheels  are  Cast 

Cast-iron  Car  Wheels 

Section  of  the  Tread  and  Flange  of  a  Car  Wheel 

Allen  Paper  Car  Wheel 

Modern  Passenger-car  and  Frame 

Snow-plough  at  Work 

A  Type  of  Snow-plough 

A  Rotary  Steam  Snow-shovel  in  Operation 

Railway-crossing  Gate 

Signal  to  Stop 

Signal  to  Move  Ahead 

Signal  to  Move  Back 


xviii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Signal  that  the  Train  has  Parted 1 63 

Entrance  Gates  at  a  Large  Station 167 

Central  Switch  and  Signal  Tower 168 

Interior  of  a  Switch-tower,  showing  the  Operation  of  Interlocking  Switches 171 

Stephenson's  Steam  Driver-brake,  patented  1833 192 

Driver-brake  on  Modern  Locomotive 192 

English  Screw-brake,  on  the  Birmingham  and  Gloucester  Road,  about  1840 193 

English  Foot-brake  on  the  Truck  of  a  Great  Western  Coach,  about  1840 193 

Plan  and  Elevation  of  Air-brake  Apparatus 196 

Dwarf  Semaphores  and  Split  Switch 202 

Semaphore  Signal  with  Indicators 203 

Section  of  Saxby  &  Farmer  Interlocking  Machine 204 

Diagram  of  a  Double- track  Junction  with  Interlocked  Switches  and  Signals 205 

Split  Switches  with  Facing-point  Locks  and  Detector-bars 206 

Derailing  Switch 207 

Torpedo  Placer 213 

Old  Signal  Tower  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading,  at  Phoenixville 214 

Crossing  Gates  worked  by  Mechanical  Connection  from  the  Cabin 217 

Some  Results  of  a  Butting  Collision — Baggage  and  Passenger  Cars  Telescoped 218 

Wreck  at  a  Bridge 219 

New  South  Norwalk  Drawbridge.     Rails  held  by  Safety  Bolts 220 

Engines  Wrecked  during  the  Great  Wabash  Strike 222 

Link-and-pin  Coupler 224 

Janney  Automatic  Coupler  applied  to  a  Freight  Car 224 

Signals  at  Night 225 

Stockton  &  Darlington  Engine  and  Car 229 

Mohawk  &  Hudson  Train   231 

English   Railway   Carriage,    Midland  Road.     First   and   Third   Class  and   Luggage 

Compartments 232 

One  of  the  Earliest  Passenger  Cars  Built  in  this  Country  ;  used  on  the  Western  Rail- 
road of  Massachusetts  (now  the  Boston  &  Albany) 233 

Bogie  Truck 233 

Rail  and  Coach  Travel  in  the  White  Mountains 234 

Old  Time  Table,  1843 -35 

Old  Boston  &  Worcester  Railway  Ticket  (about  1837) 236 

Obverse  and  Reverse  of  a  Ticket  used  in  1838,  on  the  New  York  &  Harlem  Railroad  236 

The  ' '  Pioneer."     First  Complete  Pullman  Sleeping-car 240 

A  Pullman  Porter ■ 241 

Pullman  Parlor  Car 243 

Wagner  Parlor  Car 244 

Dining-car  (Chicago,  Burlington  &  Ouincy  Railroad) 245 

End  View  of  a  Vestibuled  Car 249 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Xix 


PAGE 


Pullman  Sleeper  on  a  Vestibuled  Train 250 

Immigrant  Sleeping-car  (Canadian  Pacific  Railway) 251 

View  of  Pullman,  111 252 

Railway  Station  at  York,  England,  built  on  a  Curve 257 

Outside  the  Grand  Central  Station,  New  York 258 

Boston  Passenger  Station,  Providence  Division,  Old  Colony  Railroad 259 

A  Page  from  the  Car  Accountant's  Book 277 

Freight  Pier,  North  River,  New  York 280 

Hay   Storage  Warehouses,    New   York    Central   &   Hudson    River   Railroad,   West 

Thirty-third  Street,  New  York 282 

"  Dummy  "  Train  and  Boy  on  Hudson  Street,  New  York 287 

Red  Line  Freight-car  Mark 288 

Star  Union  Freight-car  Mark 288 

Coal  Car,  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey 289 

Refrigerator-car  Mark 289 

Unloading  a  Train  of  Truck-wagons,  Long  Island  Railroad 290 

Floating  Cars,  New  York  Harbor 295 

Postal  Progress,  1 776-1 876 313 

The  Pony  Express — The  Relay 314 

The  Overland  Mail  Coach — A  Star  Route 315 

Mail  Carrying  in  the  Country 316 

Loading  for  the  Fast  Mail,  at  the  General  Post-Office,  New  York 324 

At  the  Last  Moment 326 

Pouching  the  Mail  in  the  Postal  Car 329 

A  Very  Difficult  Address — known  as  a  "  Sticker." 331 

Distributing  the  Mail  by  States  and  Routes 332 

Pouching  Newspapers  for  California — in  Car  No.  5 335 

Catching  the  Pouch  from  the  Crane 339 

George  Stephenson 345 

J .  Edgar  Thomson 349 

Thomas  A.  Scott 350 

Cornelius  Vanderbilt 352 

John  \V.  Garrett 355 

Albert  Fink 366 

Charles  Francis  Adams 367 

Thomas  M.  Cooley 369 

"  Dancing  on  the  Carpet  " 386 

Trainman  and  Tramps 387 

Braking  in  Hard  Weather 389 

Flagging  in  Winter 391 

Coupling 392 

The  Pleasant  Part  of  a  Brakeman's  Life .395 


XX  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


At  the  Spring 297 

Just  Time  to  Jump 403 

Timely  Warning 407 

The  Passenger  Conductor 409 

Station  Gardening 416 

In  the  Yard  at  Night 419 

A  Track-walker  on  a  Stormy  Night 421 

A  Crossing  Flagman 423 

A  Little  Relaxation 424 

MAPS. 

Mileage  compared  with  Area 429 

Railways,  1830,  1840,  1850,  and  i860 430 

Railways,  1870 431 

Railways,  1 880 432 

Railways,  1 889 433 

Five  Eailway  Systems 434,  435 

CHARTS. 

Principal  Railway  Countries 425 

Mileage  to  Area  in  New  Jersey 426 

Total  Mileage  and  Increase,  1 830-1 888 429 

Mileage  by  States,  1870 431 

Mileage  by  States,  1880 432 

Mileage  by  States,  1888 433 

Largest  Receipts,  1888 435 

Largest  Net  Results,  1888 435 

Freight  Rates  of  Thirteen  Trunk  Lines,  1870-1888 436 

Wheat  Rates,  by  Water  and  by  Rail,  1870-1888 438 

The  Freight  Haul,  1882-1888. 439 

East-bound  and  West-bound  Freight,  1 877-1 888 439 

Freight  Profits,  1870-1888 44° 

Passenger  Rates,  1870-1888 441 

Passenger  Travel,  1882-1888 442 

Passenger  Profits,  1870-1888 442 

Average  Dividends,  1 876-1 888 443 

Net  Earnings  and  Mileage  Built,  1876-1888 444 

Increase  of  Population,  Mileage,  and  Freight  Traffic,  1 870-1 888 446 


INTRODUCTION. 

By   THOMAS    M.  COOLEY. 

The  railroads  of  the  United  States,  now  aggregating  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  and  having  several  hun- 
dred different  managements,  are  frequently  spoken  of  com- 
prehensively as  the  railroad  system  of  the  country,  as 
though  they  constituted  a  unity  in  fact,  and  might  be  re- 
garded and  dealt  with  as  an  entirety,  by  their  patrons  and 
by  the  public  authorities,  whenever  the  conveniences  they 
are  expected  to  supply,  or  the  conduct  of  managers  and 
agents,  come  in  question.  So  far,  however,  is  this  from  being 
the  case,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  name  any  other  in- 
dustrial interest  where  the  diversities  are  so  obvious  and 
the  want  of  unity  so  conspicuous  and  so  important.  The  di- 
versities date  from  the  very  origin  of  the  roads  ;  they  have 
not  come  into  existence  under  the  same  laws  nor  subject  to 
the  same  control.  It  was  accepted  as  an  undoubted  truth  in 
constitutional  law  from  the  first  that  the  authority  for  the 
construction  of  railroads  within  a  State  must  come  from  the 
State  itself,  which  alone  could  empower  the  promoters  to 
appropriate  lands  by  adversary  proceedings  for  the  pur- 
pose.    The  grant  of  corporate  power  must  also  come  from 


xxii  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

the  State,  or,  at  least,  have  State  recognition  and  sanction  ; 
and  where  the  proposed  road  was  to  cross  a  State  boundary, 
the  necessary  corporate  authority  must  be  given  by  every 
State  through  or  into  which  the  road  was  to  run.  It  was 
conceded  that  the  delegated  powers  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment did  not  comprehend  the  granting  of  charters  for  the 
construction  of  these  roads  within  the  States,  and  even  in 
the  Territories  charters  were  granted  by  the  local  legislat- 
ures. The  case  of  the  transcontinental  roads  was  clearly 
exceptional ;  they  were  to  be  constructed  in  large  part  over 
the  public  domain,  and  subsidies  were  to  be  granted  by 
Congress  for  the  purpose.  They  were  also,  in  part  at  least, 
to  be  constructed  for  governmental  reasons  as  national 
agencies;  and  invoking  State  authority  for  the  purpose 
seemed  to  be  as  inconsistent  as  it  would  be  inadequate. 
But,  though  these  were  exceptional  cases,  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  Pacific  roads  are  so  immense  that 
the  agency  of  the  General  Government  in  making  provision 
for  this  method  of  transportation  must  always  have  promi- 
nence in  railroad  history  and  railroad  statistics. 

Not  only  have  the  roads  been  diverse  in  origin,  but  the 
corporations  which  have  constructed  them  have  differed 
very  greatly  in  respect  to  their  powers  and  rights,  and  also 
to  the  obligations  imposed  by  law  upon  them.  The  early 
grants  of  power  were  charter-contracts,  freely  given,  with 
very  liberal  provisions  ;  the  public  being  more  anxious  that 
they  be  accepted  and  acted  upon  than  distrustful  of  their 
abuse  afterward.  Many  of  them  were  not  subject  to  altera- 
tion or  repeal,  except  with  the  consent  of  the  corporators  ; 
and  some  of  them  contained  provisions  intended  to  exclude 


INTRODUCTION.  xxiii 

or  limit  competition,  so  that,  within  a  limited  territory,  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  a  monopoly  in  transportation  would 
be  created.  The  later  grants  give  evidence  of  popular  ap- 
prehension of  corporate  abuses  ;  the  legislature  reserves  a 
control  over  them,  and  the  right  to  multiply  railroads  in- 
definitely is  made  as  free  as  possible,  under  the  supposition 
that  in  this  multiplication  is  to  be  found  the  best  protection 
against  any  one  of  them  abusing  its  powers.  In  very  many 
cases  the  motive  to  the  building  of  a  new  road  has  been 
antagonism  to  one  already  in  existence,  and  municipalities 
have  voted  subsidies  to  the  one  in  the  hope  that,  when  con- 
structed, it  would  draw  business  away  from  the  other.  The 
anomaly  has  thus  been  witnessed  of  distrust  of  corporate 
power  being  the  motive  for  increasing  it ;  and  the  multiplica- 
tion of  roads  has  gone  on,  without  any  general  supervision 
or  any  previous  determination  by  competent  public  author- 
ity that  they  were  needed,  until  the  increase  has  quite  out- 
run in  some  sections  any  proper  demand  for  their  facilities. 
Roads  thus  brought  into  existence,  without  system  and 
under  diverse  managements,  it  was  soon  seen  were  capa- 
ble of  being  so  operated  that  the  antagonism  of  managers, 
instead  of  finding  expression  in  legitimate  competition, 
would  be  given  to  the  sort  of  strife  that  can  only  be  prop- 
erly characterized  by  calling  it,  as  it  commonly  is  called,  a 
war.  From  such  a  war  the  public  inevitably  suffers.  The 
best  service  upon  the  roads  is  only  performed  when  they 
are  operated  as  if  they  constituted  in  fact  parts  of  one  har- 
monious system  ;  the  rates  being  made  by  agreement,  and 
traffic  exchanged  with  as  little  disturbance  as  possible,  and 
without  abrupt  break  at  the  terminals.     But  when   every 


XXIV  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

management  might  act  independently,  it  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  a  company  made  its  method  of  doing  business 
an  impediment  instead  of  a  help  to  the  business  done  over 
other  roads,  recognizing  no  public  duty  which  should  pre- 
clude its  doing  so,  provided  a  gain  to  itself,  however  in- 
direct or  illegitimate,  was  probable.  Many  consolidations 
of  roads  have  had  for  their  motive  the  grettinof  rid  of  this 
power  to  do  mischief  on  the  part  of  roads  absorbed. 

In  nothing  is  the  want  of  unity  so  distinctly  and  mis- 
chievously obvious  as  in  the  power  of  each  corporation  to 
make  rates  independently.  It  may  not  only  make  its  own 
local  rates  at  discretion,  but  it  may  join  or  refuse  to  join 
with  others  in  making  through  rates  ;  so  that  an  inconsid- 
erable and  otherwise  insignificant  road  may  be  capable  of 
being  so  used  as  to  throw  rates  for  a  large  section  of  the 
country  into  confusion,  and  to  render  the  making  of  profit 
by  other  roads  impossible.  It  is  frequently  said  in  railroad 
circles  that  roads  are  sometimes  constructed  for  no  other 
reason  than  because,  through  this  power  of  mischief,  it  will 
be  possible  to  levy  contributions  upon  others,  or  to  compel 
others,  in  self-protection,  to  buy  them  up  at  extravagant 
prices.  Cases  are  named  in  which  this  sort  of  scheming  is 
supposed  to  have  succeeded,  and  others  in  which  it  is  now 
being  tried. 

Evils  springing  from  the  diversities  mentioned  have 
been  cured,  or  greatly  mitigated,  by  such  devices  as  the 
formation  of  fast-freight  lines  to  operate  over  many  roads ; 
by  allowing  express  companies  to  come  upon  the  roads 
with  semi-independence  in  the  transportation  of  articles, 
where,  for  special  reasons,  the  public  is  content  to  pay  an 


INTR  on  UCTION.  xxv 

extra  price  for  extra  care  or  speed  ;  and  by  arrangements 
with  sleeping-car  companies  for  special  accommodations  in 
luxurious  cars  to  those  desiring  them.  These  collateral 
arrangements,  however,  have  not  been  wholly  beneficial ; 
and  had  all  the  roads  been  constructed  as  parts  of  one  sys- 
tem and  under  one  management,  some  of  them  would 
neither  have  been  necessary  nor  defensible.  They  exist 
now,  however,  with  more  or  less  reason  for  their  exist- 
ence ;  and  they  tend  to  increase  the  diversities  in  railroad 
work. 

The  want  of  unity  which  has  been  pointed  out  tended 
to  breed  abuses  specially  injurious  to  the  public,  and  gov- 
ernmental regulation  was  entered  upon  for  their  correction. 
Naturally  the  first  attempts  in  this  direction  were  made 
by  separate  States,  each  undertaking  to  regulate  for  itself 
the  transportation  within  its  own  limits.  Such  regulation 
would  have  been  perfectly  logical,  and  perhaps  effectual, 
had  the  roads  within  each  State  formed  a  system  by  them- 
selves ;  but  when  State  boundaries  had  very  little  impor- 
tance, either  to  the  roads  themselves  or  to  the  traffic  done 
over  them,  unless  made  important  by  restrictive  and  ob- 
structive legislation,  the  regulation  by  any  State  must  nec- 
essarily be  fragmentary  and  imperfect,  and  diverse  reg- 
ulation in  different  States  might  be  harmful  rather  than 
beneficial.  It  must  be  said  for  State  regulation  that  it  has 
in  general  been  exercised  in  a  prudent  and  conservative 
way,  but  it  is  liable  to  be  influenced  by  a  sensitive  and  ex- 
citable public  opinion  ;  and  as  nothing  is  more  common 
than  to  find  gross  abuses  in  the  matter  of  railroad  transpor- 
tation selfishly  defended  in  localities,  and  even  in  consid- 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

erable  sections,  which  are  supposed  to  receive  benefits  from 
them,  it  would  not  be  strange  if  the  like  selfishness  should 
sometimes  succeed  in  influencing  the  exercise  of  power 
by  one  State  in  a  manner  that  a  neighboring  State  would 
regard  as  unfriendly  and  injurious. 

The  Federal  Government  recently  undertook  the  work  of 
regulation,  and  in  doing  so  accepted  the  view  upon  which 
the  States  had  acted,  and  so  worded  its  statute  that  the 
transportation  which  does  not  cross  State  lines  is  supposed 
to  be  excluded.  The  United  States  thus  undertakes  to 
regulate  interstate  commerce  by  rail,  and  the  States  regu- 
late, or  may  regulate,  that  which  is  not  interstate.  It  was 
perhaps  overlooked  at  first  that,  inasmuch  as  Government 
control  may  embrace  the  making  of  classifications,  prescrib- 
ing safety  and  other  appliances,  and  naming  rates,  any  con- 
siderable regulation  of  State  traffic  and  interstate  traffic  sep- 
arately must  necessarily  to  some  extent  cause  interference. 
The  two  classes  of  traffic  flow  on  together  over  the  same 
lines  in  the  same  vehicles  under  the  management  of  the 
same  agencies,  with  little  or  no  distinction  based  on  State 
lines  ;  the  rates  and  the  management  influenced  by  consid- 
erations which  necessarily  are  of  general  force,  so  that  sep- 
arate regulation  may  without  much  extravagance  be  com- 
pared to  an  attempt  in  the  case  of  one  of  our  great  rivers  to 
regulate  the  flow  of  the  waters  in  general,  but  without,  in 
doing  so,  interfering  with  an  independent  regulation  of 
such  portion  thereof  as  may  have  come  from  the  Springs 
and  streams  of  some  particular  section.  This  is  one  of 
many  reasons  for  looking  upon  all  existing  legislation  as 
merelv  tentative. 


INTRODUCTION.  xxvil 

No  doubt  the  time  will  come  when  the  railroads  of  the 
country  will  constitute,  as  they  do  not  now,  a  system. 
There  are  those  who  think  this  may,  sufficiently  for  prac- 
tical purposes,  be  accomplished  by  the  legalization  of  some 
scheme  of  pooling  ;  but  this  is  a  crude  device,  against  which 
there  is  an  existing  prejudice  not  easily  to  be  removed. 
Others  look  for  unity  through  gradual  consolidations,  the 
tendency  to  which  is  manifest,  or  through  something  in  the 
nature  of  a  trust,  or  by  means  of  more  comprehensive  and 
stringent  national  control.  Beyond  all  these  is  not  infre- 
quently suggested  a  Government  ownership. 

Of  the  theories  that  might  be  advanced  in  this  direction, 
or  the  arguments  in  their  support,  nothing  further  will  be 
said  here ;  the  immediate  purpose  being  accomplished 
when  it  is  shown  how  misleading  may  be  the  term  system, 
when  applied  to  the  railroads  of  the  country  as  an  aggre- 
gate, as  now  owned,  managed,  and  controlled. 

Every  man  in  the  land  is  interested  daily  and  con- 
stantly in  railroads  and  the  transportation  of  persons  and 
property  over  them.  The  price  of  whatever  he  eats,  or 
wears,  or  uses,  the  cost  and  comfort  of  travel,  the  speed 
and  convenience  with  which  he  shall  receive  his  mail  and 
the  current  intelligence  of  the  day,  and  even  the  intimacy 
and  extent  of  his  social  relations,  are  all  largely  affected 
thereby.  The  business  employs  great  numbers  of  persons, 
and  the  wages  paid  them  affect  largely  the  wages  paid  in 
other  lines  of  occupation.  The  management  of  the  busi- 
ness in  some  of  its  departments  is  attended  by  serious  dan- 
gers, and  thousands  annually  lose  their  lives  in  the  service. 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

Other  thousands  annually  are  either  killed  or  injured  in 
being  transported  ;  the  aggregate  being  somewhat  start- 
ling, though  unquestionably  this  method  of  travel  is  safer 
than  any  other.  The  ingenuity  which  has  been  expended 
in  devices  to  make  the  transportation  rapid,  cheap,  and 
safe  may  well  be  characterized  as  marvellous,  and  some 
feats  in  railroad  engineering  are  the  wonder  of  the  world. 
With  all  these  facts  and  many  others  to  create  a  public  in- 
terest in  the  general  subject,  the  editor  of  Scribner  s  Maga- 
zine, some  little  time  ago,  applied  to  writers  of  well-known 
ability  and  competency  to  prepare  papers  for  publication 
therein  upon  the  various  topics  of  principal  interest  in  the 
life  and  use  of  railroads,  beginning  with  the  construc- 
tion, and  embracing  the  salient  facts  of  management  and 
service.  He  was  successful  in  securing  a  series  of  papers 
of  high  value,  the  appearance  of  which  has  been  welcomed 
from  month  to  month,  beginning  with  June,  1888,  with  con- 
stant and  increasing  interest.  These  papers  have  a  perma- 
nent value  ;  and,  in  obedience  to  a  demand  for  their  sepa- 
rate publication  in  convenient  form  for  frequent  reference, 
the  publishers  now  reproduce  them  with  expansions  and 
additions.  A  reference  to  the  several  titles  will  convince 
anyone  at  all  familiar  with  the  general  subject  that  the 
particular  topic  is  treated  in  every  instance  by  an  expert, 
entitled  as  such  to  speak  with  authority. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  RAILWAY. 


By  THOMAS    CURTIS    CLARKE. 


Roman  Tramways  of  Stone — First  Use  of  Iron  Rails — The  Modern  Railway  created  by 
Stephenson's  "Rocket"  in  1830 — Early  American  Locomotives — Key  to  the  Evolu- 
tion of  the  American  Railway — Invention  of  the  Swivelling  Truck,  Equalizing 
Beams,  and  the  Switchback — Locating  a  Road — Work  of  the  Surveying  Party — 
Making  the  Road-bed — How  Tunnels  are  Avoided — More  than  Three  Thousand 
Bridges  in  the  United  States — Old  Wooden  Structures — The  Howe  Truss — The 
Use  of  Iron — Viaducts  of  Steel — The  American  System  of  Laying  Bridge  Founda- 
tions under  Water — Origin  of  the  Cantilever — Laying  the  Track — How  it  is  Kept 
in  Repair — Premiums  for  Section  Bosses — Number  of  Railway  Em- 
ployees in  the  United  States — Rapid  Railway  Construction — Radical 
Changes  which  the  Railway  will  Effect. 

'HE  world  of  to-day  differs  from  that  of  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte  more  than  his  world  differed 
from  that  of  Julius  Caesar ;  and  this  change  has 
chiefly  been  made  by  railways. 

Railways  have  been  known  since  the  days 
of  the  Romans.  Their  tracks  were  made  of  two 
lines  of  cut  stones.  Iron  rails  took  their  place  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  when  the  use  of  that  metal  became  extended. 
These  roads  were  called  tram-roads,  and  were  used  to  carry  coal 
from  the  mines  to  the  places  of  shipment.  They  were  few  in  num- 
ber and  attracted  little  attention. 

The  modern  railway  was  created  by  the  Stephensons  in  1830, 
when  they  built  the  locomotive  "  Rocket."  The  development  of 
the  railway  since  is  due  to  the  development  of  the  locomotive. 
Civil  engineering  has  done  much,  but  mechanical  engineering  has 
done  more. 

The  invention  of  the  steam-engine  by  James  Watt,  in  1773, 
attracted  the  attention  of  advanced  thinkers  to  a  possible  steam 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 


locomotive.      Erasmus  Darwin,  in  a  poem  published  in  1781,  made 
this  remarkable  prediction  : 

"Soon  shall  thy  arm,   unconquered  steam!   afar 
Drag  the  slow  barge,   or  drive  the  rapid  car." 

The  first  locomotive  of  which  we  have  any  certain  record  was 
invented,    and   put   in   operation    on   a    model   circular    railway   in 

London,  in  1804,  by  Richard  Tre- 


First  Locomotive. 


vithick,  an  erratic  genius,  who  in- 
vented many  things  but  perfected 
few.  His  locomotive  could  not 
make  steam,  and  therefore  could 
neither  go  fast  nor  draw  a  heavy 
load.  This  was  the  fault  of  all  its 
successors,  until  the  competitive 
trial  of  locomotives  on  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  Railway,  in 
1829.  The  Stephensons,  father  and  son,  had  invented  the  steam 
blast,  which,  by  constantly  blowing  the  fire,  enabled  the  "  Rocket," 
with  its  tubular  boiler,  to  make  steam  enough  to  draw  ten  passen- 
ger cars,  at  the  rate  of  thirty-five  miles  an  hour. 

Then  was  born  the  modern  giant,  and  so  recent  is  the  date  of 
his  birth  that  one  of  the  unsuccessful  competitors  at  that  memo- 
rable trial.  Captain  John  Ericsson,  was  until  the  present  year 
(1889)  living  and  actively  working  in  New  York.  Another  en- 
gineer, Horatio  Allen,  who  drove  the  first  locomotive  on  the  first 
trip  ever  made  in  the  United  States,  in  1831,  still  lives,  a  hale 
and  hearty  old  man,  near  New  York. 

The  earlier  locomotives  of  this  country,  modelled  after  the 
"  Rocket,"  weighed  five  or  six  tons,  and  could  draw,  on  a  level, 
about  40  tons.  After  the  American  improvements,  which  we 
shall  describe,  were  made,  our  engines  weighed  25  tons,  and 
could  draw,  on  a  level,  some  sixty  loaded  freight  cars,  weighing 
1,200  tons.  This  was  a  wonderful  advance,  but  now  we  have  the 
"  Consolidation  "  locomotive,  weighing  50  tons,  and  able  to  draw, 
on  a  level,  a  little  over  2,400  tons. 

And  this  is  not  the  end.  Still  heavier  and  more  powerful 
engines  are  being  designed  and  built,  but  the  limit  of  the  strength 


EUROPEAN  LOCOMOTIVES.  3 

of  the  track,  according  to  its  present  forms,  has  nearly  been 
reached.  It  is  very  certain  we  have  not  reached  the  Hmit  of  the 
size  and  power  of  engines,  or  the  strength  of  the  track  that  can 
be  devised. 

After  the  success  of  the  "  Rocket,"  and  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway,  the  authority  of  George  Stephenson  and  his 
son  Robert  became  absolute  and  unquestioned  upon  all  subjects 
of  railway  engineering.  Their  locomotives  had  very  little  side 
play  to  their  wheels,  and  could  not  go  around  sharp  curves. 
They  accordingly  preferred  to  make  their  lines  as  straight  as  pos- 
sible, and  were  willing  to  spend  vast  sums  to  get  easy  grades. 
Their  lines  were  taken  as  models  and  imitated  by  other  engineers. 
All  lines  in  England  were  made  with  easy  grades  and  gentle 
curves.  Monumental  bridges,  lofty  stone  viaducts,  and  deep  cuts 
or  tunnels  at  every  hill  marked  this  stage  of  railway  construction 
in  England,  which  was  imitated  on  the  European  lines. 

As  it  was  with  the  railway,  so  it  was  with  the  locomotive. 
The  Stephenson  type,  once  fixed,  has  remained  unchanged  (in 
Europe),  except  in  detail,  to  the  present  day.  European  loco- 
motives have  increased  in  weight  and  power,  and  in  perfection  of 


Locomotive  of  To-day. 


material  and  workmanship,  but  the  general  features  are  those 
of  the  locomotives  built  by  the  great  firm  of  George  Stephenson 
&  Son,  before  1840. 


When  we  come  to  the  United  States  we  find  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent state  of  things.  The  key  to  the  evolution  of  the  American 
railway  is  the  contempt  for  authority  displayed  by  our  engineers, 
and  the  untrammelled  way  in   which  they  invented   and   applied 


4  THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 

whatever  they  thought  would  answer  the  best  purpose,  regardless 
of  precedent.  When  we  began  to  build  our  railways,  in  1831, 
we  followed  English  patterns  for  a  short  time.  Our  engineers 
soon  saw  that  unless  vital  changes  were  made  our  money  would 
not  hold  out,  and  our  railway  system  would  be  very  short.  Neces- 
sity truly  became  the  mother  of  invention. 

The  first,  and  most  far-reaching,  invention  was  that  of  the 
swivelling  truck,  which,  placed  under  the  front  end  of  an  engine, 
enables  it  to  run  around  curves  of  almost  any  radius.  This 
enabled  us  to  build  much  less  expensive  lines  than  those  of  Eng- 
land, for  we  could  now  curve  around  and  avoid  hills  and  other 
obstacles  at  will.  The  illustration  opposite  shows  a  railroad  curv- 
ing around  a  mountain  and  supported  by  a  retaining  wall,  in- 
stead of  piercing  through  the  mountain  with  a  tunnel,  as  would 
have  been  necessary  but  for  the  swivelling  truck.  The  swivelling 
truck  was  first  suggested  by  Horatio  Allen,  for  the  South  Carolina 
Railway,  in  1831  ;  but  the  first  practical  use  of  it  was  made  on  the 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  in  the  same  year.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  invented  by  John  B.  Jervis,  Chief  Engineer  of  that 
road. 

The  next  improvement  was  the  invention  of  the  equalizing 
beams  or  levers,  by  which  the  weight  of  the  engine  is  always 
borne  by  three  out  of  four  or  more  driving-wheels.  They  act  like 
a  three-legged  stool,  which  can  always  be  set  level  on  any  irreg- 
ular spot.  The  original  imported  English  locomotives  could  not 
be  kept  on  the  rails  of  rough  tracks.  The  same  experience  ob- 
tained in  Canada  when  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  was  opened,  in 
1854-55.  The  locomotives  of  English  pattern  constantly  ran  off 
the  track;  those  of  American  pattern  hardly  ever  did  so.  Finally, 
all  their  locomotives  were  changed  by  having  swivelling  trucks 
put  under  their  forward  ends,  and  no  more  trouble  occurred.  The 
equalizing  levers  were  patented  in  1838,  by  Joseph  Harrison,  Jr., 
of  Philadelphia. 

These  two  improvements,  which  are  absolutely  essential  to  the 
success  of  railways  in  new  countries,  and  have  been  adopted  in 
Canada,  Australia,   Mexico,   and  South  America,*  to  the  exclusion 

*  It  is  proper  here  to  say  that  English  engineers  now  appreciate  the  merits  of  the  American  swivel- 
ling truck  or  bogie.     In  the  article  on  Railways  in  the  last  edition  of  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica," 


Alpine   Pass.     Avoidance  of  a  Tunnel. 


MERITS   OF  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES.  7 

of  English  patterns,  are  also  of  great  value  on  the  smoothest  and 
best  possible  tracks.  The  flexibility  of  the  American  machine  in- 
creases its  adhesion  and  enables  it  to  draw  greater  loads  than  its 


A  Sharp  Curve— Manhattan   Elevated   Railway,   iioth   Street,  New  York 

English  rival.  The  same  flexibility  equalizes  its  pressure  on  the 
track,  prevents  shocks  and  blows,  and  enables  it  to  keep  out  of 
the  hospital  and  run  more  miles  in  a  year  than  an  English  loco- 
motive.* 

Equally  valuable  improvements  were  made  in  cars,  both  for 
passengers  and  freight.  Instead  of  the  four-wheeled  English  car, 
which  on  a  rough  track  dances  along  on  three  wheels,  we  owe 
to  Ross  Winans,  of  Baltimore,  the  application  of  a  pair  of  four- 
wheeled  swivelling  trucks,  one  under  each  end  of  the  car,  thus  en- 
abling it  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  Inequalities  of  a  rough  track 
and  to  follow  its  locomotive  around  the  sharpest  curves.     There 

speaking  of  locomotives,  the  author  of  the  article,  who  is  an  English  engineer  of  high  authority,  says  : 
"American  practice,  many  years  since,  arrived  at  two  leading  types  of  locomotive  for  passenger,  and 
for  goods  traffic.  The  passenger  locomotive  has  eight  wheels,  of  which  four  m  front  are  framed  in  a 
bogie,  and  the  four  wheels  behind  are  coupled  drivers.  This  is  the  type  to  which  English  practice  has 
been  approximating."     The  italics  are  ours. 

*  The  statistics  of  ten  leading  English  and  ten  leading  American  lines,  given  by  Dorsey,  show  the  fol- 
lowing results  :  i.  The  cost  per  year  of  the  rations,  wages,  fuel  of  an  American  locomotive  is  $5.59°  I  of 
an  English  locomotive,  $3,080.  2.  Average  yearly  number  of  train-miles  run  by  American  locomotive, 
23,928;  English  locomotive,  17,539.  3-  Yearly  earnings :  American  locomotive,  $14,860;  English  loco- 
motive, $10,940,  although  the  English  freight  charges  are  much  greater  than  those  of  the  United  States. 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


A   Steep   Grade   on   a   Mountain    Railroad. 


are,  on  our  main  lines,  curves 
of  less  than  300  feet  radius, 
while,  on  the  Manhattan  Ele- 
vated, the  largest  passenger 
traf¥ic  in  the  world  is  conduct- 
ed around  curves  of  less  than 
100  feet  radius.  There  are 
few  curves  of  less  than  1,000 
feet  radius  on  European  rail- 
ways. 

The  climbing  capabilities  of 
a  locomotive  upon  smooth  rails 

were  not  known  until,  in  1852,  Mr.  B.  H.  Latrobe,  Chief  Engineer 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  tried  a  temporary  zigzag  gra- 
dient of  10  per  cent. — that  is  10  feet  rise  in  100  feet  length,  or  528 
feet  per  mile — over  a  hill  about  two  miles  long,  through  which  the 
Kingwood  Tunnel  was  being  excavated.  A  locomotive  weighing 
28  tons  on  its  drivers  took  one  car  weighing  15  tons  over  this  line 
in  safety.  It  was  worked  for  passenger  traffic  for  six  months. 
This  daring  feat  has  never  been  equalled.  Trains  go  over  4  per 
cent,  gradients  on  the  Colorado  system,  and  there  is  one  short 
line,  used  to  bring  ore  to  the  Pueblo  furnaces,  which  is  worked  by 
locomotives  over  a  7  per  cent,  grade.  These  are  believed  to  be 
the  steepest  grades  worked  by  ordinary  locomotives  on  smooth 
rails. 

Another  American  invention  is  the  switchback.     By  this  plan 


USES   OF   THE   SWITCHBACK.  9 

the  length  of  line  required  to  ease  the  gradient  is  obtained  by  run- 
ning backward  and  forward  in  a  zigzag  course,  instead  of  going 
straight  up  the  mountain.  As  a  full  stop  has  to  be  made  at  the 
end  of  every  piece  of  line,  there  is  no  danger  of  the  train  running 
away  from  its  brakes.  This  device  was  first  used  among  the  hills 
of  Pennsylvania  over  forty  years  ago,  to  lower  coal  cars  down  into 
the  Nesquehoning  Valley.  It  was  afterwards  used  on  the  Callao, 
Lima,  and  Oroya  Railroad  in  Peru,  by  American  engineers,  with 
extraordinary  daring  and  skill.  It  was  employed  to  carry  the 
temporary  tracks  of  the  Cascade  Division  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  over  the  "  Stampede"  Pass,  with  grades  of  297  feet  per 
mile,  while  a  tunnel  9,850  feet  long  was  being  driven  through  the 
mountains. 

With  the  improvement  of  brakes  and  more  reliable  means  of 


A  Switchback. 


stopping  trains  upon  steep  grades,  came  a  farther  development  of 
the  above  device,  which  was  first  applied  on  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  in  Colorado,  and  has  since  been  applied  on  a 
grand  scale  on  the  Saint  Gothard  road,  the  Black  Forest  railways 
of  Germany,  and  the  Semmering  line  in  the  Tyrol.  This  device  is 
to   connect   the  two  lines  of  the  zigzag  by  a  curve  at  the  point 


lO 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


where  they  come  together,  so  that  the  train,  instead  of  going  al- 
ternately backward  and  forward,  now  runs  continuously  on.  It 
becomes  possible  for  the  line  to  return  above  itself  in  spiral  form, 
sometimes  crossing  over  the  lower  level  by  a  tunnel,  and  some- 
times by  a  bridge.  A  notable  instance  of  this  kind  of  location  is 
seen  on  the  Tehachapi  Pass  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  where  the  line 

ascends  2,674 
feet  in  25  miles, 
with  eleven  tun- 
nels, and  a  spi- 
ral   3,800    feet 


PLAN. 


SfLVDlPlUMI 


GEORGETOWN. 


tVyWTitF'firu  dtmli  Rod,,  c[  Cunt  uiFia. 

Plan  OT   Big   Loop. 


long. 


The  "  Big  Loop,"  as  it  is  called,  on  the  Georgetown  branch  of 
the  Union  Pacific,  in  Colorado,  between  Georgetown  and  a  mining 
camp  called  Silver  Plume,  has  been  chosen  to  illustrate  this  point. 
The  direct  distance  up  the  valley  is  i^  miles  and  the  elevation  600 
feet,  requiring  a  gradient  of  480  feet  per  mile.  But  by  curving  the 
line  around  in  a  spiral,  the  length  of  the  line  is  increased  to  4  miles 
and  the  gradient  reduced  to  150  feet  per  mile.  Zigzags  were  used 
first  for  foot-paths,  then  for  common  roads,  lastly  for  railways. 
Their  natural  sequence,  spirals,  was  a  railway  device  entirely,  and 
confirms  the  saying  of  one  of  our  engineers  :  "  Where  a  mule  can 
go,  I  can  make  a  locomotive  go."  This  may  be  called  the  poetry 
of  engineering, 
as  it  requires 
both  imagina- 
tion to  conceive 
and  skill  to  ex- 
ecute. 


There  is  one 
thincf    more 


SllVERPLUME 


Profile  of  the  Same. 


which  distin- 
guishes the  American  railway  from  its  English  parent,  and  that  is 
the  almost  uniform  practice  of  getting  the  road  open  for  traffic  in 
the  cheapest  manner  and  in  the  least  possible  time,  and  then  com- 
pleting it  and  enlarging  its  capacity  out  of  its  surplus  earnings,  and 
from  the  credit  which  these  earnings  give  it. 


THE   PRELIMINARY  SURVEY.  1 3 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  between  Philadelphia  and  Harris- 
burg  is  a  notable  example  of  this.  Within  the  past  few  years  it  has 
been  rebuilt  on  a  grand  scale,  and  in  many  places  relocated,  and 
miles  of  sharp  curves  and  heavy  gradients,  originally  put  in  to  save 
expense,  have  been  taken  out.  This  system  has  been  followed 
everywhere,  except  on  a  few  branch  lines,  and  upon  one  monumen- 
tal example  of  failure — the  West  Shore  Railroad,  of  New  York. 
The  projectors  of  that  line  attempted  in  three  years  to  build  a 
double-track  railroad  up  to  the  standard  of  the  Pennsylvania  road, 
which  had  been  forty  years  in  reaching  its  present  excellence. 
Their  money  gave  out,  and  they  came  to  grief. 

II. 

We  have  thus  briefly  reviewed  the  development  of  our  railways 
to  show  what  they  are,  and  how  they  came  to  be  what  they  are, 
before  describing  the  processes  of  building,  in  order  that  the 
reasons  may  be  clearly  understood  why  we  do  certain  things,  and 
why  we  fail  to  do  other  things  which  we  ought  to  do. 

In  the  building  of  a  railway  the  first  thing  is  to  make  the  sur- 
veys and  locate  the  position  of  the  intended  road  upon  the  ground, 
and  to  make  maps  and  sections  of  it,  so  that  the  land  may  be 
bought  and  the  estimates  of  cost  be  ascertained.  The  engineer's 
first  duty  is  to  make  a  survey  by  eye  without  the  aid  of  instruments. 
This  is  called  the  "  reconnoissance."  By  this  he  lays  down  the 
general  position  of  the  line,  and  where  he  wants  it  to  go  if  possi- 
ble. Great  skill,  the  result  of  long  experience,  or  equally  great 
ignorance  may  be  shown  here.  After  the  general  position  of  the 
line,  or  some  part  of  it,  has  been  laid  down  upon  the  pocket  map, 
the  engineer  sends  his  party  into  the  field  to  make  the  preliminary 
survey  with  instruments. 

In  an  old-settled  country  the  party  may  live  in  farm-houses  and 
taverns,  and  be  carried  to  their  daily  work  by  teams.  But  a  sur- 
veying party  will  make  better  progress,  be  healthier  and  happier,  if 
they  live  in  their  own  home,  even  if  that  home  be  a  travelling  camp 
of  a  few  tents.  With  a  competent  commissary  the  camp  can  be 
well  supplied  with  provisions,  and  be  pitched  near  enough  to  the 
probable  end  of  the  day's  work  to  save  the  tired  men  a  long  walk. 


H 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 


Engineers   in    Camp 


When  they  get  to  camp  and,  after  a  wash  in  the  nearest  creek, 
find  a  smoking-hot  supper  ready — even  though  it  consist  of  fried 
pork  and  potatoes,  corn-bread  and  black  coffee — their  troubles  are 
all  forgotten,  and  they  feel  a  true  satisfaction  which  the  flesh-pots 
of  Delmonico's  cannot  give.  One  greater  pleasure  remains — to 
fill  the  old  pipe,  and  recline  by  the  camp-fire  for  a  jolly  smoke. 
A  full   surveying  party  consists  of  the  front  flag-man,  with  his 


QUALIFICATIONS   OF  A    CIVIL   ENGINEER.  1 5 

corps  of  axe-men  to  cut  away  trees  and  bushes ;  the  transit-man, 
who  records  the  distances  and  angles  of  the  Hne,  assisted  by  his 
chain-men  and  flag-men  ;  and  lastly  the  leveller,  who  takes  and 
records  the  levels,  with  his  rod-men  and  axe-men.  The  chief  of 
the  party  exercises  a  general  supervision  over  all,  and  is  some- 
times assisted  by  a  topographer,  who  sketches  in  his  book  the 
contours  of  the  hills  and  direction  and  size  of  the  watercourses. 

One  tent  contains  the  cook,  the  commissary,  and  the  provi- 
sions ;  another  tent  or  two  the  working  party,  and  another  the  supe- 
rior engineers,  with  their  drawing  instruments  and  boards.  In  a 
properly  regulated  party  the  map  and  profile  of  the  day's  work 
should  be  plotted  before  going  to  bed,  so  as  to  see  if  all  is  right. 
If  it  turns  out  that  the  line  can  be  improved  and  easier  grades  got, 
or  other  changes  made,  now  is  the  time  to  do  it. 

After  the  preliminary  lines  have  been  run,  the  engineer-in-chief 
takes  up  the  different  maps  and  lays  down  a  new  line,  sometimes 
coinciding  with  that  surveyed,  and  sometimes  quite  different.  The 
parties  then  go  back  into  the  field  and  stake  out  this  new  line, 
called  the  "approximate  location,"  upon  which  the  curves  are  all 
run  in.  In  difficult  country  the  line  may  be  run  over  even  a  third 
or  fourth  time  ;  or  in  an  easy  country,  the  "  preliminary  "  surveys 
may  be  all  that  is  wanted. 

The  life  of  an  engineer,  while  making  surveys,  is  not  an  easy 
one.  His  duties  require  the  physical  strength  of  a  drayman  and 
the  mental  accuracy  of  a  professor,  both  exerted  at  the  same  time, 
and  during  heat  and  cold,  rain  and  shine. 

An  engineer,  once  on  a  time,  standing  behind  his  instrument, 
was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  natives,  anxious  to  know  all  about 
it.  He  explained  his  processes,  using  many  learned  words,  and 
flattered  himself  that  he  had  made  a  deep  impression  upon  his 
hearers.  At  last,  one  old  woman  spoke  up,  with  an  expression  of 
great  contempt  on  her  face,  "  Wall !  If  I  knowed  as  much  as  you 
do,  I'd  quit  ingineerin'  and  keep  a  grocery  !  " 

A  large  part  of  the  financial  difficulties  of  our  railways  results 
from  not  taking  time  enough  to  properly  locate  the  line.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  a  cheaply  constructed  line  can  be  rebuilt,  but 
with  a  badly  located  line  nothing  can  be  done  except  to  abandon 
it  entirely. 


i6 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 


Royal   Gorge    Hanging   Br   -.^  _ 


and  Rio  Grande,  Colorado. 


It  is  well  therefore  to  consider  carefully  what  is  the  true  prob- 
lem of  location.  It  is  so  to  place  and  build  a  line  of  railway  that  it 
shall  get  the  greatest  amount  of  business  out  of  the  country  through 
which  it  passes,  and  at  the  same  time  be  able  to  do  that  business 
at  the  least  cost,  including  both  expenses  of  operating  and  the 
fixed  charges  on  the  capital  invested.  The  mere  statement  of  this 
problem  shows  that  it  is  not  an  easy  one.     Its  solution  is  different 


LOCATION  IN  NEW  COUNTRIES. 


17 


in  a  new  and  unsettled  country  from  that  in  an  old-settled  re- 
gion. In  the  new  country,  the  shortest,  cheapest,  and  straightest 
line   possible,  consistent    with   the    easiest    gradients  that  the  to- 


9BtBq)iKjiiHiBWgB9>WTF!i|'T^^gggg"^jgT»^^  ' 


TTWTW^ 


fcr-J-"  KgpjnteSIP'  wg3^".-N.i-it|r.i  -laffi 


Veta   Hdi,,    (^ 


pography  of  the  land  will  allow,  is  the     P^ 

best.     The  towns  will  spring  up  after 

the  road  is  built,  and  will  be  built   on 

its  line,  and  generally  at  the  places  where  stations  have  been  fixed. 

In  a  mountainous  country,  like  Colorado,  the  problem  is  how 
to  reach  the  important  mining  camps,  regardless  of  the  crooked- 
ness and  increased  length  given  to  the  line.  The  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande  has  been  compared  to  an  octopus.  This  is  really  a 
compliment  to  its  engineers.  It  sucks  nutriment  from  every  place 
where  nutriment  is  to  be  found.  To  do  this  it  has  been  forced  to 
climb  mountains,  where  it  was  thought  locomotives  could  never 
climb.  In  one  place,  called  the  Royal  Gorge,  the  difficulties  of 
blasting  a  road-bed  into  the  side  of  the  mountain  were  so  great  that 
it  was  thought  expedient  to  carry  the  track  upon  a  bridge,  and 
this  bridge  was  hung  from  two  rafters,  braced  against  the  sides  of 
the  gorge.  In  surveying  some  parts  of  the  lines  the  engineers 
were  suspended  by  ropes  from  the  top  of  the  mountains  and  made 
their  measurements  swinging  in  mid-air. 

The  problem  of  location  is  different  in  an  old-settled  country, 
where  the  position  of  the  towns  as  trade-centres  has  been  fixed  by 
natural  laws  that  cannot  be  overruled.  In  this  case  the  best  thing 
the  engineer  can  do  is  to  get  the  easiest  gradient  possible  consist- 


i8 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


Sections  of  Snow-sheds. 


ent  with  the  topography  of  the  country,  and  let  the  curves  take 
care  of  themselves  ;  always  to  strike  the  important  towns,  even  if 
the  line  is  made  more  crooked  and  longer  thereby  ;  to  so  place 
the  line  in  these  towns  as  to  accommodate  the  public,  and 
still  be  able  to  buy  plenty  of  land  ;  also  to  locate 
for  under  or  over,  rather  than  grade  crossings. 

In  all  countries,  old  and  new,  moun- 
tainous and  level,  the  rule  should  be  to 
keep  the  level  of  track  well 
above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  in  order  to  insure 
good  drainage  and  freedom 
from  snow-drifts. 
The  question  of  avoidance  of  obstruction  by  snow  is  a  very  seri- 
ous one  upon  the  Rocky  Mountain  lines,  and  they  could  not  be 
worked  without  the  device  of  snow-sheds — another  purely  Ameri- 
can invention.  There 
are  said  to  be  six  miles 
of  stanchly  built  snow- 
sheds  on  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  and  sixty 
miles  on  the  Central 
Pacific  Railway.  The 
quantity  of  snow  fall- 
ing is  enormous,  sometimes  amounting  to  250,000  cubic  yards, 
weio-hino-  over  100,000  tons,  in  one  slide.  It  is  stated  by  the  en- 
gineers  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  that  the  force  of  the  air  set  in 

motion  by  these  ava- 
lanches has  mown 
down  large  trees,  not 
struck  by  the  snow 
itself.  Their  trunks,  from  one  to  two  feet  in  diameter,  remain, 
split  as  if  struck  by  lightning. 

After  the  railway  line  has  been  finally  located,  the  next  duty  of 
the  engineers  is  to  prepare  the  work  for  letting.  Land-plans  are 
made,  from  which  the  right  of  way  is  secured.  From  the  sections, 
the  quantities  are  taken  out.      Plans  of  bridges  and  culverts  arg 


MAKING    THE  ROAD-BED. 


21 


Making  an  Embankment. 

made ;  and  a  careful  specification  of  all  the  works  on   the  line  is 
drawn  up. 

The  works  are  then  let,  either  to  one  large  contractor  or  to 
several  smaller  ones,  and  the  labor  of  construction  begins.  The 
duties  of  the  engineers  are  to  stake  out  the  work  for  the  contrac- 
tors, make  monthly  returns  of  its  progress,  and  see  that  it  is  well 
done  and  accordinsf 


to  the  specifications 
and  contract.  The 
line  is  divided  into 
sections,  and  an  en- 
gineer, with  his  as- 
sistants, is  placed 
in  charge  of  each. 
Where  the  works 
are  heavy,  the  con- 
tractors build  shan- 
ties for    their   men 

and  teams  near  the  heavy  cuttings  or  embankments, 
torn  to  take  out  heavy  cuttings  by  means  of  the  machine  called  a 
steam  shovel,  which  will  dig  as  many  yards  in  a  day  as  500  men. 


Steam   Excavator. 


It  is  the  cus- 


22 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


On  the  prairies  of  the  West  the  road-bed  is  thrown  up  from 
ditches  on  each  side,  either  by  men  with  wheelbarrows  and  carts, 
or  by  means  of  a  ditching-machine,  which  can  move  3,000  yards  of 
earth  daily.      In  this  case 
the  track  follows  immedi- 
ately   after  the    embank- 
ment,   and  the   men  live 
in  cars  fitted  up  as  board- 
ing-shanties, and  moved 
forward  as  fast  as  requir- 
ed.    If  the  country  con- 
tains  suitable   stone,    the 
culverts  and  bridgfe  abut- 
ments  are  built  by  gangs 


-^H^^,^ 


Building  a  Culvert. 

of  masons  and  stone-cut- 
ters, who  move  from  point 
to  point.  But  the  general 
practice  is  to  put  in  tem- 
porary trestle-work  of 
timber  resting  upon  piles, 
which  trestle-work  is  re- 
newed in  the  shape  of 
stone  culverts  covered 
by  embankments,  or  iron 
bridges  resting  on  stone  abutments  and  built  after  the  road  is  run- 
ning. 

The  pile-driver  plays  a  very  important  part  therefore  in  the 
construction  of  our  railroads,  and  has  been  brought  to  great  per- 
fection. It  is  worked  by  a  small  boiler  and  engine,  and  gives  its 
blows  with  great  rapidity.      It  drags  the  piles  up  to  leaders  and 


SHARP  CURVES   TO   AVOW    TUNNELS. 


23 


lifts  them  into  place  by  steam-power,  so  that  it  is  worked  by  a 
small  gang  of  men.  Finally,  it  is  as  portable  as  a  pedler's  cart, 
and  as  soon  as  it  has  finished  one  job  it  is  taken  to  pieces,  packed 
upon  wagons,  and 
moved  on  to  the  next 
job. 

Tunnels  are  neither 
so  long  nor  so  frequent 
upon     American     rail- 
ways as  upon  those  of 
Europe.     The   longest 
are    from    two    to    two 
and  a  half  miles  long, 
except  one,  the  Hoosac,  about 
four  miles.     Sometimes  they 
are     unavoidable. 


The  ridofe  called  Ber- 
gen  Hill,  west  of  Ho- 
boken,  N.  J.,  is  a  case 
in    point.     This  is 
pierced  by  the  tunnels 
of  the  West  Shore,  of 
the  Delaware,    Lacka- 
wanna,   and    Western, 
and    of  the    Erie,    the 
last   two   of  which,    as 
shown  on  page  25,  are 
placed  at  different  lev- 
els to  enable  one  road 
to  pass  over  the  other. 
It  is  by  our  system  of  using  sharp  curves  that  we  avoid  tun- 
nels.    It  may  be  said,  in  general  terms,  that  American  engineers 
have  shown  more  skill  in  avoiding  the  necessity  of  tunnels  than 
could  possibly  be   shown   in   constructing  them.     When  we    are 


Rock   Drill. 


24 


THE   BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 


obliged  to  use  tunnels,  or  to  make  deep  cuttings  in  rocks,  our 
labors  are  greatly  assisted  by  the  use  of  power-drills  worked  by 
compressed  air  and  by  the  use  of  high  explosives,  such  as  dyna- 


A  Constiuction  and   Boarding  Train. 


mite,  giant  powder,  rend-rock, 
etc.  Rocks  can  now  be  removed  in  less  than  half  the  time  for- 
merly required,  when  ordinary  blasting-powder  was  used  in  hand- 
drilled  holes.* 

III. 

From  data  furnished  by  Mr.  D.  J.  Whittemore,  chief  engineer 
of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  St.  Paul  system  (which  had  a  to- 
tal length  of  5,688  miles  on  January  i,  1888),  the  length  of  open 
bridges  on  these  lines  was  1 1 5YyQ- miles,  and  of  culverts  covered 
over  with  embankment,  39yV  miles.  "  Everything,"  says  Mr. 
Whittemore,  "not  covered  with  earth,  except  cattle  guards,  be  the 
span  10  or  400  feet,  is  called  a  bridge.  Everything  covered  with 
earth  is  called  a  culvert.  Wherever  we  are  far  removed  from 
suitable  quarries,  we  build  a  wooden  culvert  in  preference  to  a 
pile  bridge,  if  we  can  get  six  inches  of  filling  over  it.     These  cul- 

*  The  writer  has  obtained  many  of  the  statistics   used   in  this  article   from    A.   M.  Wellington's 
"  Economic  Theory  of  Railway  Location,"  a  perfect  mine  of  valuable  information  upon  all  such  matters. 


CULVERTS   OF  LOGS. 


25 


verts  are  built  of  roughly 
squared  logs,  and  are  large 
enough  to  draw  an  iron 
pipe  through  them  of  suffi- 
cient diameter  to  take  care 
of  the  water.  We  do  this 
because  we  believe  that  we 
lessen  the  liability  to  acci- 
dent, and  that  the  culvert 
can  be  maintained  after  decay  has  begun,  much  longer  than  a  piled 
bridge  with  stringers  to  carry  the  track.  Had  we  good  quarries 
along  our  line,  stone  would  be  cheaper.  Many  thousands  of  dollars 
have  been  spent  by  this  company  in  building  masonry  that  after 
twenty  to  twenty-five  years  shows  such  signs  of  disintegration  that 


Bergen  Tunne's,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 


26  THE   BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 

we  confine  masonry  work  now  only  to  stone  that  we  can  procure 
from  certain  quarries  known  to  be  good." 

Mr.  Whittemore  is  an  engineer  of  great  experience,  skill,  and 


Beginning  a  Tunnel. 

judgment,  and  there  is  food  for  much  reflection  in  these  words  of 
his  :  First — that  it  is  better  to  use  temporary  wooden  structures, 
to  be  afterward  renewed  in  good  stone,  rather  than  to  build  of  the 
stone  of  the  locality,  unless  first-class.  Second — that  a  structure 
covered  with  earth  is  much  safer  than  an  open  bridge ;  which,  if 
short  and  apparently  insignificant,  may  be,  through  neglect,  a  most 
serious  point  of  danger,  as  was  shown  in  the  dreadful  accident  of 
1887  on  the  Toledo,  Peoria,  and  Western  road  in  Illinois,  where 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  by 
the  equally  avoidable  accident  on  the  Florida  and  Savannah  line, 
in  March,  1888.  Had  these  little  trestles  been  changed  to  culverts 
covered  with  earth,  many  valuable  lives  would  not  have  been  lost. 
It  was  safely  estimated  that  there  were,  in  1888,  208,749 
bridges  of  all  kinds,  amounting  in  length  to  3,213  miles,  in  the 
United  States.* 

*The  amount  of  permanent  wood  and  iron  truss  bridges,  and  of  temporary  wooden  trestles  on  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  St.  Paul  is  as  follows  : 

Truss  bridges,  700  spans,  average  93  feet,  12  Vo  miles. 
Trestle      "     7,196       "  "        77    "    103710     " 


Total,    7,896  iiS'/io     " 

The  approximate  total  number  of  bridges  in  the  United  States  was  in  i£ 


WOODEN  TRUSS-BRIDGES.  27 

The  wooden  bridge  and  the  wooden  trestle  are  purely  Ameri- 
can products,  although  they  were  invented  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  From  the  above  statistics  it  will  be  seen 
how  much  our  American  railways  owe  to  them,  for  without  them 
over  150,000  miles  could  never  have  been  built. 

The  art  of  building  wooden  truss-bridges  was  developed  by 
Burr  &  Wernwag,  two  Pennsylvania  carpenters,  some  of  whose 
works  are  still  in  use  after  eighty  years  of  faithful  duty  (p.  28). 
A  bridge  built  by  Wernwag  across  the  Delaware  in  1803  was 
used  as  a  highway  bridge  for  forty-five  years,  was  then  strength- 
ened and  used  as  a  railway  bridge  for  twenty-seven  years  more, 
and  was  finally  superseded  by  the  present  iron  bridge  in  1875. 

These  old  bridge-builders  were  very  particular  about  the  qual- 
ity of  their  timber,  and  never  put  any  into  a  bridge  less  than  two 
years  old.  But  when  we  began  to  build  railways,  everything  was 
done  in  a  hurry,  and  nobody  could  wait  for  seasoned  timber.  This 
led  to  the  invention  of  the  Howe  truss,  by  the  engineer  of  that 
name,  which  had  the  advantage  of  being  adjustable  with  screws 
and  nuts,  so  that  the  shrinkage  could  be  taken  up,  and  which 
had  its  parts  connected  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  able  to  bear 
the  heavy  concentrated  weight  of  locomotives  without  crushing. 
This  bridge  was  used  on  all  railways,  new  and  old,  from  1840  to 
about  1870.  Had  it  been  free  from  liability  to  decay  and  burn  up, 
we  should  probably  not  be  building  iron  and  steel  bridges  now, 
except  for  long  spans  of  over  200  feet ;  and  as  the  table  oppo- 
site shows,  the  largest  number  of  our  spans  are  less  than  100  feet 
long. 

The  Howe  truss  forms  an  excellent  bridge,  and  is  still  used  in 
the  West  on  new  roads,  with  the  intention  of  substituting  iron 
trusses  after  the  roads  are  opened. 

After  1870,  the  weights  both  of  locomotives  and  other  rolling 
stock  began   to  be   increased  very  rapidly.     This,  together  with 

Iron  and  wood  truss  bridges,  61,562  spans,  1,086  miles. 
Wooden  trestles,  147.187  2,127     " 


Total,  208,749  3,213     " 

Probably  three-fourths  of  the  truss  bridges  are  now  of  iron  or  steel,  and  may  be  considered  perfectly 
safe  so  long  as  the  trains  remain  upon  the  rails  and  do  not  strike  the  side  trusses.  The  wooden  trestles 
are  a  constant  source  of  danger  from  decay  or  burning  or  from  derailed  trains,  and  should  be  replaced 
by  permanent  structures  as  fast  as  time  and  money  will  allow. 


28 


THE   BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


Old   Burr  Wooden   Budge. 


the  development  of  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  especially  the  in- 
vention of  rolled  beams  and  of  eye-bars,  gave  a  great  impetus  to 
the  construction  of  iron  bridges.  At  first  cast-iron  was  used  for 
the  compression  members,  but  the  development  of  the  rolling- 
mill  soon  enabled  us 
to  make  all  parts  of 
rolled  iron  sections  at 
no  greater  cost,  and 
rolled  iron,  being  a 
less  uncertain  materi- 
al, has  replaced  cast- 
iron  entirely.  Iron 
bridges  came  in  direct 
competition  with  the 
less  costly  Howe  truss, 
and  during  the  first 
decade  of  their  con- 
struction every  at- 
tempt was  made  to  build  them  with  as  few  pounds  of  iron  as 
would  meet  the  strains. 

S.  Whipple,  C.E.,  published  a  book  in  1847  which  was  the 
first  attempt  ever  made  to  solve  the  mathematical  questions  upon 
which  the  due  proportioning  of  iron  truss-bridges  depends.  This 
work  bore  fruit,  and  a  race  of  bridge  designers  sprang  up.  The 
first  iron  bridges  were  modelled  after  their  wooden  predecessors, 
with  high  trusses  and  short  panels.  Riveted  connections  were 
avoided,  and  every  part  was  so  designed  that  it  might  be  quickly 
and  easily  erected  upon  staging  or  false  works,  placed  In  the  river. 
This  was  very  necessary,  for  our  rivers  are  subject  to  sudden 
freshets,  and  if  we  had  adopted  the  English  system  of  riveting  to- 
gether all  the  connections,  the  long  time  required  before  the  bridge 
became  self-sustaining  would  have  been  a  serious  element  of 
danofer. 

Following  the  practice  of  wooden  bridge  building,  iron  bridges 
were  contracted  for  by  the  foot,  and  not  by  the  pound  as  is  now 
the  custom.  To  this  accidental  circumstance  is  greatly  due  the 
development  of  the  American  Iron  bridge.  The  engineer  repre- 
senting the  railway  company  fixed  the  lengths  of  spans,  and  other 


THE   BEST  IRON  TRUSSES.  29 

general  dimensions,  and  also  the  loads  to  be  carried  and  the  maxi- 
mum strains  to  be  allowed.  The  contractine  emjineer  was  left 
perfectly  free  to  design  his  bridge,  and  he  strained  every  nerve 
to  find  the  form  of  truss  and  the  arrangement  of  its  parts  that 
should  give  the  required  strength  with  the  least  number  of  pounds 
weight  per  foot,  so  that  he  could  beat  his  competitors.  When  the 
different  plans  were  handed  in,  an  expert  examined  them  and  re- 
jected those  whose  parts  were  too  small  to  meet  the  strains.  Of 
those  found  to  be  correctly  proportioned,  the  lowest  bid  took  the 
work. 

By  the  rule  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  all  badly  designed 
forms  of  trusses  disappeared  and  only  two  remained :  one  the 
original  truss  designed  by  Mr.  Whipple,  and  the  other,  the  well- 
known  triancrular,  or  "Warren"  o-irder,  so  called  after  its  Enelish 
inventor. 

It  speaks  well  for  the  skill  and  honesty  of  American  bridge  en- 
gineers that  many  of  their  old  bridges  are  still  in  use,  designed  for 
loads  of  2,500  pounds  per  lineal  foot,  and  now  daily  carrying  loads 
of  4,000  pounds  and  over  per  foot.  Sometimes  the  floor  has  been 
replaced  by  a  stronger  one,  but  the  trusses  still  remain  and  do  good 
service.  The  writer  may  be  permitted  to  point  to  the  bridge  over 
the  Mississippi  River  at  Quincy,  111.,  built  in  1869,  as  an  example. 
Most  bridofe-accidents  can  be  traced  to  derailed  trains  strikino-  the 
trusses  and  knocking  them  down.  Engineers  (both  those  specially 
connected  with  bridge  works,  and  those  in  charge  of  railways) 
know  much  better  now  what  is  wanted,  and  the  managers  of  rail- 
ways are  willing  to  pay  for  the  best  article.  The  introduction  of 
mild  steel  is  a  great  step  in  advance.  This  material  has  an  ultimate 
strength,  in  the  finished  piece,  of  63,000  to  65,000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  or  forty  per  cent,  more  than  iron,  and  it  is  tough 
enough  to  be  tied  in  a  knot,  or  punched  into  the  shape  of  a  bowl, 
while  cold.  With  this  material  it  is  as  easy  to  construct  spans  of 
500  feet  as  it  was  spans  of  250  feet  in  iron. 

Bridges  are  now  designed  to  carry  much  heavier  loads  than 
formerly.  The  best  practice  adopts  riveted  connections  except  at 
the  junction  of  the  chord-bars  and  the  main  diagonals,  where  pins 
and  eyes  are  still  very  properly  used.  Plate  girders  below  the 
track  are  preferred  up  to  60  or  70  feet  long,  then  riveted  lattice  up 


so 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


to  125  feet.    The  wind 
strains  also    are    now 
provided     for    with    a 
considerable  excess  of 
material,  amounting  in 
very    long    spans    to 
nearly  as  much  as  the 
strains  due  to  gravity. 
Observing     the     rule 
that  no  bridge  can  be 
stronger  than  its  weak- 
est part,  a  vast  deal  of 
care   and  skill  has  been  ap- 
plied in  perfecting  the   con- 
nections   of  the    parts    of  a 
truss,  and  many  valuable  ex- 
periments  have  been   made 
which  have  greatly  enlarged 
our  knowledge  of  this  diffi- 
cult subject.     The  introduc- 
tion of  riveting  by  the  power 
of  steam  or  compressed  air 
is    another   very    great    im- 
provement.* 

Valleys  and  ravines  are 
now  crossed  by  viaducts  of 
iron  and  steel,  of  which  the 
Kinzua  viaduct,  illustrated 
here,  is  an  example.  A 
branch  line  from  the  Erie,  connecting  that  system  with  valuable 
coal-fields,  strikes  the  valley  of  the  Kinzua,  a  small  creek,  about 
15  miles  southwest  of  Bradford,  Pa.  At  the  point  suitable  for 
crossing,  this  ravine  is  about  half  a  mile  wide  and  over  300  feet 
deep.  At  first  it  was  proposed  to  run  down  and  cross  the  creek 
at  a  low  level  by  some  of  the  devices  heretofore  illustrated  in  this 
article.  But  finally  the  engineering  firm  of  Clarke,  Reeves  &  Co. 
agreed  to  build  the  viaduct,  shown  above,  for  a  much  less  sum  than 

*  See  following  article  on  "  Feats  of  Railroad  Engineering,"  page  86. 


Kinzua  Viaduct  ;    Erie  Railway. 


HO IV  TO   BUILD   SAFE   BRIDGES. 


31 


any  other  method  of  crossing  would  have  cost.  This  viaduct  was 
buih  in  four  months.  It  is  305  feet  high  and  about  2,400  feet  long. 
The  skeleton  piers  were  first  erected  by  means  of  their  own  posts, 
and  afterward  the  girders  were  placed  by  means  of  a  travelling 
scaffold  on  the  top,  projecting  over  about  80  feet.  No  stao-ino-  of 
any  kind  was  used,  nor  even  ladders,  as  the  men  climbed  up  the 
diagonal  rods  of  the  piers,  as  a  cat  will  run  up  a  tree. 

The  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway,  about  34  miles  long,  is  noth- 
ing but  a  long  viaduct,  and  is  as  strong  and  durable  as  iron  via- 
ducts on  railways  usually  are,  while  from  the  slower  speed  of  its 
trains  it  is  much  safer. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  for  the  writer  to  state  here  what,  in 
his  belief,  is  the  next  series  of  steps  to  be  taken  to  insure  safety  in 
travelling  over  our  bridges  :  Replace,  wherever  possible,  all  tem- 
porary trestles  by  wood  or  stone  culverts  covered  with  earth. 
Where  this  cannot  be  done,  build  strong  iron  or  steel  bridges  and 
viaducts  with  as  short  spans  as  possible  and  having  no  trusses 
above  the 
track  where 
it  can  possi- 
bly be  help- 
ed.  Cover 
these  and  all 
new  bridges 
with  a  solid 
deck  of  roll- 
ed-steel cor- 
r  u  g  a  t  e  d 
plates,  coat- 
ed with  as- 
phalt to  pre- 


vent rustmcr. 

o 

Place     on 

this    broken 

stone  ballast,  and  bed  the  ties  in   it  as  in  the   ordinary  form  of 

road-bed. 

By  this  means  the  usual  shock  felt  in  passing  from  the  elastic 
embankment  to  the  comparatively  solid  bridge  will  be  done  away. 


Kinzua  Viaduct. 


32  THE   BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 

Has  a  crack  formed  in  a  wheel  or  axle,  this  shock  generally  de- 
velops it  into  a  break,  the  car  or  engine  is  derailed,  and  if  it  strikes 
the  truss  the  bridge  is  wrecked.  The  cost  of  this  proposed  safety 
floor  is  insignificant,  compared  with  the  security  resulting  from  it. 

The  improvements  in  the  processes  of  putting  in  the  foundations 
of  bridges  have  been  as  great  as  those  above  water.  All  have 
shortened  greatly  the  time  necessary,  and  have  made  the  results 
more  certain.  The  American  system  may  briefly  be  described  as 
an  abandonment  of  the  old  engineering  device  of  coffer-dams,  by 
which  the  bed  of  the  river  is  enclosed  by  a  water-tight  fence  and 
the  water  pumped  out.  For  this  we  substitute  driving  piles  and 
sawing  them  off  under  water ;  or  sinking  cribs  down  to  a  hard 
bottom  through  the  water.  In  both  cases  we  sink  the  masonry, 
built  in  a  great  water-tight  box  (called  a  caisson)  with  a  thick 
bottom  of  solid  timber,  until  it  finally  rests  on  the  heads  of  the  piles 
sawn  to  a  level,  or  on  the  top  of  a  crib  which  is  filled  with  stone, 
dumped  out  of  a  barge.  Sometimes  it  is  filled  with  concrete 
lowered  through  the  water  by  special  apparatus.* 

Another  process,  developed  wnthin  the  last  twenty  years,  is  to 
sink  cribs  through  soft  or  unreliable  material  to  a  harder  stratum 
by  compressed  air.  This  is  an  improvement  on  the  old  diving-bell. 
The  air,  forced  into  the  bell-shaped  cavity,  expels  the  water  and 
allows  the  men  to  work  and  remove  the  material,  which  is  taken 
up  by  a  device  called  an  air-lock.  The  crib  slowly  sinks,  carrying 
the  masonry  on  its  top. 

By  this  means  the  foundations  of  the  Brooklyn  bridge  and  of 
the  St.  Louis  bridge  were  sunk  a  little  over  lOO  feet  below  water. 
A  recent  invention  is  that  of  a  German  engineer,  Herr  Poetsch, 
who  freezes  the  sand  by  inserting  tubes  filled  with  a  freezing  mixt- 
ure, and  then  excavates  it  as  if  it  were  solid  rock. 

The  process  of  sinking  open  cribs  through  the  water  by  weight- 
ing them  and  dredging  out  the  material  was  followed  at  the  new 
bridge  recently  built  over  the  Hudson  at  Poughkeepsie,  where 
the  cribs  were  sunk  130  feet  below  water,  and  at  the  bridge  building 
over  the  Hawkesbury  River,  in  Australia.  The  Hawkesbury  piers 
are  sunk  to  a  depth   of  175  feet  below  water,  and  are  the  deepest 

*  For  fuller  description  of  work  in  a  caisson  see  "  Feats  of  Railway  Engineering,"  page  69. 


ORIGIN  OF   THE    CANTIIEVER.  H 

foundations  yet  put  in.  The  writer  (who  derives  his  knowledge 
from  being  one  of  the  designing  and  executive  engineers  of  both 
these  bridges)  sees  no  difficulty  in  putting  down  foundations  by 
this  process  of  open  dredging  to  even  much  greater  depths.  The 
compressed-air  process  is  limited  to  about  i  lo  feet  in  depth. 

IV. 

The  most  notable  invention  of  latter  days  in  bridge  construc- 
tion is  that  of  the  cantilever  bridge,  which  is  a  system  devised  to 
dispense  with  staging,  or  false  works,  where  from  the  great  depth, 
or  the  swift  current,  of  the  river,  this  would  be  difficult,  or,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Niagara  River,  impossible  to  make.  The  word  canti- 
lever is  used  in  architecture  to  signify  the  lower  end  of  a  rafter, 
which  projects  beyond  the  wall  of  a  building,  and  supports  the  roof 
above.  It  is  from  an  Italian  word,  taken  from  the  Latin  canti- 
labrum  (used  by  Vitruvius),  meaning  the  lip  of  the  rafter.  If  two 
beams  were  pushed  out  from  the  shores  of  a  stream  until  they  met 
in  the  centre,  and  these  two  beams  were  long  enough  to  run  back 
from  the  shores  until  their  weight,  aided  by  a  few  stones,  held  them 
down,  we  should  have  a  primitive  form  of  the  cantilever,  but  one 
which  in  principle  would  not  differ  from  the  actual  cantilever 
bridges.  This  is  another  American  invention,  although  it  has  been 
developed  by  British  engineers — Messrs.  Fowler  &  Baker — in  their 
huo"e  brido-e  now  buildinof  across  the  Forth,  in  Scotland,  of  a  size 
which  dwarfs  everything  hitherto  done  in  this  country,  the  Brook- 
lyn bridge  not  excepted. 

The  first  design  of  which  we  have  any  record  was  that  of  a 
bridge  planned  by  Thomas  Pope,  a  ship  carpenter  of  New  York, 
who,  in  1810,  published  a  book  giving  his  designs  for  an  arched 
bridge  of  timber  across  the  North  River  at  Castle  Point,  of  2,400 
feet  span.  Mr.  Pope  called  this  an  arch,  but  his  description  clearly 
shows  it  to  have  been  what  we  now  call  a  cantilever.  As  was  the 
fashion  of  the  day,  he  indulged  in  a  poetical  description  : 

"  Like  half  a  Rainbow  rising  on  yon  shore, 
While  its  twin  partner  spans  the  semi  o'er, 
And  makes  a  perfect  whole  that  need  not  part 
Till  time  has  furnish'd  us  a  nobler  art." 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


View  of  Thomas   Pope's  Proposed   Cantilever  (1810). 


The  first  railway  cantilever  bridge  in  the  world  was  built  by 
the  late  C.  Shaler  Smith,  C.E.,  one  of  our  most  accomplished 
bridge  engineers.  This  was  a  bridge  over  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
Kentucky  River. "^^  The  next  was  a  bridge  on  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  in  British  Columbia,  designed  by  C.  C.  Schneider,  C.E. 
A  very  similar  bridge  is  that  over  the  Niagara  River,  designed 
by  the  same  engineer  in  conjunction  with  Messrs.  Field  &  Hayes, 
Civil  Engineers.  This  bridge  was  the  first  to  receive  the  distinc- 
tive name  of  cantilever. 

The  new  bridge  at  Poughkeepsie  has  three  of  these  cantilevers, 
connected  by  two  fixed  spans,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  (pg.  36). 
The  fixed  spans  have  horizontal  lower  chords,  and  reall}'^  extend 
beyond  each  pier  and  up  the  inclined  portions,  to  where  the  bot- 
tom chord  of  the  cantilever  is  horizontal.  At  these  points  the 
junctions  between  the  spans  are  made,  and  arranged  in  such  a  way, 
by  means  of  movable  links,  that  expansion  and  contraction  due  to 
changes  of  temperature  can  take  place.  The  fixed  spans  are  525 
feet  long.  Their  upper  chord,  where  the  tracks  are  placed,  is  212 
feet  above  water.  These  spans  required  stagings  to  build  them 
upon.  These  stagings  were  220  feet  above  water,  and  rested  on 
piles,  driven  through  60  feet  of  water  and  60  feet  of  mud,  making 
the  whole  height  of  the  temporary  staging  332  feet,  or  within  30 
feet  of  the  height  of  Trinity  Church  steeple,  in  New  York.     The 

*  See  "  Feats  of  Railway  Engineering,"  page  55. 


IfOJJ'  CANTILEVERS  ARE   ERECTED. 


35 


time  occupied  in  building-  one  of  these  stagings  and  then  erecting 
the  steel-work  upon  it  was  about  four  months. 

The  cantilever  spans  were  erected,  as  shown  in  the  illustration 
on  page  2>1^  without  any  stagings  at  all  below,  and  entirely  from 
the  two  overhead  travellinor  scaffolds,  shown  in  the  eneravine. 
These  scaffolds  were  moved  out  daily  from  the  place  of  begin- 
ning over  the  piers,  until  they  met  in  the  centre.  The  workmen 
hoisted  up  the  different  pieces  of  steel  from  a  barge  in  the  river 
below  and  put  them  into  place,  using  suspended  planks  to  walk 
upon.  The  time  saved  by  this  method  was  so  great  that  one  of 
these  spans  of  548  feet  long  was  erected  in  less  than  four  weeks, 
or  one-seventh  of  the  time  which  would  have  been  required  if 
stagings  had  been  used. 

At  the  Forth  Bridge,  all  the  projecting  cantilevers  will  be  built 
from  overhead  scaffolds,  360  feet  above  the  water.  It  contains 
two  spans  of  1,710  feet  each.  When  spans  of  this  length  are  used, 
the  rivets  become  very  long — seven  inches — and  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  make  a  good  job  by  hand  riveting.  Hence  a  power- 
riveter  is  used  in  riveting  the  work  upon  the  staging.  A  steam- 
engine  raises  up  a  heavy  mass  of  cast-iron,  called  "the  accumu- 
lator ;  "  the 
weight  of 
this  in  de- 
scendinor  is 
transmitted 
t  h  r  o  u  or  h 
tubes  of  wat- 
er,   and     its 

P  O  W   e  1       m-  Pope  s  Cantilever  in  Process  o*  Erection.     (From  his  "  Treatise  on  Bridge  Arcnitecture. '  ) 

creased     by 

contracting  the  area  of  pressure,  until  some  twenty  tons  can  be 
applied  to  the  head  of  each  rivet.  One  rivet  per  minute  can  be 
put  in  with  this  tool. 


It  will  be  seen  that  most  of  the  great  saving  of  time  in  modern 
construction  of  bridges  and  other  parts  of  railways  is  due  to  im- 
proved machinery.  The  engineer  of  to-day  is  probably  not  more 
skilful  than  his  ancestor,  who,  in   periwig  and  cue,  breeches  and 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


General  View  of  the  Poughkeepsie   Bridge. 


silk  stockings,  is  represented  in  old  prints  supervising  a  gang  of 
laborers,  who  slowly  lift  the  ram  of  a  pile-driver  by  hauling  on  one 
end  of  a  rope  passed  over  a  pulley-wheel.  The  modern  engineer 
has  that  useful  servant,  steam,  and  the  history  of  modern  engineer- 
ing is  chiefly  the  history  of  those  inventions  by  which  steam  has 
been  able  to  supersede  manual  labor — such  as  pile-drivers,  steam- 
shovels,  steam-dredo-es,  and  other  similar  tools. 


After  the  road-bed  of  a  railway  is  completed  and  covered  with 
a  good  coat  of  gravel  or  stone-ballast,  and  after  all  the  temporary 
structures  have  been  replaced  by  permanent  ones,  that  part  of  the 
work  may  be  said  to  be  done,  requiring  only  that  the  damages  of 
storms  should  be  repaired.  But  the  track  of  a  railway  is  never 
done.     It  is  always  wearing  out  and  always  being  replaced. 

Some  of  the  early  English  engineers,  not  appreciating  this,  en- 
deavored to  lay  down  solid  stone  walls  coped  with  stone  cut  to  a 
smooth  surface,  on  which  they  laid  their  rails.  They  called  this 
"permanent  way,"  as  distinguished  from  the  temporary  track  of 
rails  and  cross-ties  used  by  contractors  in  building  the  lines.  But 
experience  soon  showed  that  the  temporary  track,  if  supported  by 


INVENTION   OF  BESSEMER    STEEL. 


Z7 


a  bed  of  broken  stone,  always  kept  itself  drained  and  was  always 
elastic,  and  remained  in  much  better  order  than  the  more  expensive 
so-called  "  permanent  way."  When  the  increase  in  the  weight  of 
our  rolling  stock  began  to  take  place,  dating  from  about  1870,  iron 
rails  were  found  to  be  wearing  out  very  fast.  Some  railway  men 
declared  that  the  railway  system  had  reached  its  full  developmxent. 
But  in  this  world  the  supply  generally  equals  the  demand.  When 
a  thing  is  very  much  wanted,  it  is  sure  to  come,  sooner  or  later. 
The  process  of  making  steel  invented  by,  and  named  after,  Henry 
Bessemer,  of  England,  and  perfected  by  A.  L.  Holley,  of  this 
country,  gave  us  a  steel  rail  which  at  the  present  time  costs  less 
than  one  of  iron,  and  has  a   life  five  or  six  times  as  long,  even 


Erectmn  of  a  Cantilever 


under  the  heavy  loads  of  to-day.  We  are  now  approaching  very 
near  the  limit  of  what  the  rail  will  carry,  while  the  joints  are  be- 
coming less  able  to  do  their  duty.  Bad  joints  mean  rough  track. 
Rough  track  means  considerably  greater  expenditure  both  for  its 
maintenance  and  that  of  all  the  rolling  stock,  as  the  blows  and 


38 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 


shocks  do  reciprocal  damage,  both  to  the  rails  and  to  that  which 
runs  on  them.  Hence  all  railway  managers  are  now  devoting 
more  care  and  attention  to  their  tracks. 

In  laying  track  on  a  new  railway,  if  it  be  in  an  old-settled  coun- 
try where  other  railroads  are  near  and  the  highways  good,  the  ties 
are  delivered  in  piles  along  the  line  where  wanted,  and  the  haul  of 

the    rails    is  comparatively   short. 
C5<-^        The  ties    are   laid    down,    spaced 
and    bedded,   adzed  off  to  a  true 


SpiUing  the    TracPc. 


bearing,  and  the  rails  laid 
upon  them  ;  the  workmen  be- 
ing divided  into  gangs,  each 
doing  a  different  part  of  the 
work.  After  the  track  is  laid,  the  ballast-trains  come  along  and 
cover  the  roadbed  with  gravel.  The  track  is  raised,  the  gravel 
tamped  well  under  the  ties,  and  the  track  is  ready  for  use. 

The  road  is  then  divided  into  sections  about  five  miles  lone. 
On  each  section  there  is  a  section-boss,  with  four  to  six  laborers. 
Their  duty  is  to  pass  over  the  track  at  least  twice  a  day  in  their 
hand-car,  to  examine  every  joint,  and  where  one  is  found  low  or 
out  of  line,  to  bring  it  back  to  its  true  position  by  tamping  gravel 
under  it   and  moving  the  track.      They  have  also  to  see  that  all 


PREMIUMS  FOR   SECTION-MEN. 


41 


ditches  are  kept  clear  of  water,  a  most  essential  point,  as  without 
good  drainage  the  ground  under  gravel  ballast  becomes  soft,  and 


Track  Laying, 


the  mud  is  churned  up  into  the  gravel,  and  the  whole  soon  gets 
into  bad  order. 

They  have  to  see  that  the  fences  are  all  right,  that  trees  and 
telegraph  poles  do  not  fall  across  the  track,  that  wooden  bridges 
do  not  burn  down,  that  iron  and  stone  bridges  are  not  undermined 
by  freshets,  and  always  to  set  up  danger  signals  to  warn  the  trains. 

It  is  admitted  by  competent  judges,  that  the  track  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  is  the  best  in  this  country,  and  one  of  the  best 
in  the  world.  It  is  kept  up  to  its  high  standard  of  excellence  by  a 
system  of  competitive  examinations. 

About  the  first  of  November,  in  each  year,  after  the  season's 
work  has  been  done,  a  tour  of  inspection  is  made  over  all  the  lines, 
on  a  train  of  cars  expressly  prepared,  consisting  of  two  or  more 
cars  not  unlike  ordinary  box  cars  with  the  front  end  taken  out. 
Each  car  is  pushed  in  front  of  an  engine,  and  goes  slowly  over  the 
line,  by  daylight  only,  so  that  the  inspecting  party  may  have  a  full 
view  of  the  road. 

The  Pennsylvania  road  is  divided  into  Grand  Divisions,  Super- 
intendents' Divisions,  of  about  100  miles  long.  Supervisors'  Divi- 
sions, of  about  30  miles,  and  Subdivisions,  oi  2\  miles. 

The  examining  committee  for  each  Supervisor's  Division  con- 
sists of  the  supervisors  of  other  divisions.  As  they  pass  along, 
they  mark  on  a  card.  One  sub-committee  marks  the  condition  of 
the  alignment  and  surfacing  of  the  rails  ;  another  the  condition  of 


42  THE   BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 

the  joints  and  the  spacing  of  the  ties ;  another  the  ballast,  switches, 
and  sidings ;  another  the  ditches,  road-crossings,  station  grounds. 
The  marks  range  from  i  to  lo,  o  being  very  bad,  5  medium,  and 
10  perfection.  When  the  trip  is  done  these  reports  are  all  collected 
and  the  average  is  taken  for  each  division. 

As  an  inducement  to  the  supervisors  and  the  foremen  of  the 
Subdivisions  to  excel  on  their  division,  premiums  are  given  as 
follows  : 

$100  to  the  supervisor  having  the  best  yard  on  his  Grand  Division. 

$100  each  to  the  supervisors  having  the  best  Supervisor's  Division  on  each  Superin- 
tendent's Division  of  loo  miles. 

$75  to  the  foreman  having  the  best  subdivision  of  il  miles  on  each  Grand  Division. 

$60  to  each  foreman  having  the  best  subdivision  on  his  Superintendent's  Division, 
including  yards. 

$50  to  the  foreman  having  the  best  subdivision  on  each  Supervisor's  Division. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  are  two  premiums  of  honor  given 
by  the  general  manager,  which  bring  into  competition  with  each 
other  those  parts  of  the  main  line  lying  on  either  side  of  Philadel- 
phia, viz.  : 

$100  to  the  supervisor  having  the  best  line  and  surface  between  Pittsburg  and  Jersey 
City. 

$50  to  the  second  best  ditto. 

If  a  supervisor  or  foreman  of  subdivision  receives  one  of  the 
higher  premiums,  he  is  not  allowed  to  be  a  competitor  for  any 
others  premiums,  except  the  premiums  of  honor. 

The  advantages  of  these  inspections  and  premiums  are  these  : 
Every  man  knows  exactly  what  the  standard  of  excellence  is,  and 
strives  to  have  his  section  reach  it.  Under  the  old  system,  a  man 
never  got  off  of  his  own  section,  and  had  no  means  of  comparison, 
and  like  all  untravelled  persons,  became  conceited. 

The  standard  of  excellence  becomes  higher  and  higher  every 
year.  Perfect  fairness  prevails,  as  the  mien  themselves  are  the 
judges.  The  officers  of  the  road  make  no  marks,  but  usually 
look  on  and  see  that  there  is  fair  play. 

This  brings  the  officers  and  men  nearer  together,  and  shows 
the  men  how  all  are  working  for  the  common  good.  An  agreeable 
break  is  made  in  the  monotony  of  the  men's  lives.  They  have 
something  to  look  forward  to  better  than  a  spree. 


THE   COST  OF   TRANSPORTATION:  43 

It  is  by  the  adoption  of  such  methods  as  these  that  strikes  will 
be  prevented  in  the  future.  It  encourages  an  esprit  de  corps 
among  the  men,  and  educates  them  in  every  way. 

This  system  was  first  devised  and  put  in  operation  on  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  1879,  by  Mr.  Frank  Thomson,  General 
Manager,  to  whom  the  credit  of  it  is  justly  due. 

V. 

I  HAVE  thus  endeavored  to  trace  the  history  of  the  building  of 
a  railway  ;  and  it  must  have  been  seen,  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  the  evolution  of  the  railway  and  of  its  rolling  stock  follows  the 
same  laws  which  govern  the  rest  of  the  world :  adaptation  to  cir- 
cumstances decides  what  is  fittest,  and  that  alone  survives.  The 
scrap-heap  of  a  great  railway  tells  its  own  story. 

Our  railways  have  now  reached  a  development  which  is  won- 
derful. The  railways  of  the  United  States,  if  placed  continuously, 
would  reach  more  than  half-way  to  the  moon.  Their  bridges 
alone  would  reach  from  New  York  to  Liverpool.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  number  of  accidents  that  we  read  of  in  the  daily  papers, 
statistics  show  that  less  persons  are  killed  annually  on  railways 
than  are  killed  annually  by  falling  out  of  windows. 

Railways  have  so  cheapened  the  cost  of  transportation  that, 
while  a  load  of  wheat  loses  all  of  its  value  by  being  hauled  one 
hundred  miles  on  a  common  road,  meat  and  flour  enough  to  sup- 
ply one  man  a  year  can,  according  to  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson,  be 
hauled  1,500  miles  from  the  West  to  the  East  for  one  day's  wages 
of  that  man,  if  he  be  a  skilled  mechanic.  If  freight  charges  are 
diminished  in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  this  can  soon  be  done  for 
one  day's  wages  of  a  common  laborer. 

The  number  of  persons  employed  in  constructing,  equipping, 
and  operating  our  railways  is  about  two  millions. 

The  combined  armies  and  navies  of  the  world,  while  on  peace 
footing,  will  draw  from  gainful  occupations  3,455,000  men. 

Those  create  wealth — these  destroy  it.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
America  is  the  richest  country  in  the  world  ? 

The  rapidity  with  which  it  is  possible  to  build  railways  over 
the   prairies   of  the   West  is  extraordinary.     It    is   true    that  the 


44 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    RAILWAY. 


Temporary   Railway   Crossmg   the    St.  Lawrence   on   the    Ice. 


amount  of  earth  necessary  to 

be  moved  is   much   less   than 

on  the  railways   of  the   East. 

In   Iowa    and  Wisconsin,  the 

amount    runs    from    20,000  to 

25,000  yards   per  mile,   while 

in  Dakota  it  is  only  12,000  to 

15,000  yards  per  mile.     After  making  all  due  allowance  for  this, 

the  result  is  still  remarkable. 

The  Manitoba  system  was  extended  in  1887  through  Dakota 
and  Montana  a  distance  of  545  miles.  A  small  army  of  10,000 
men,  with  about  3,500  teams,  commanded  by  General  D.  C.  Shep- 
ard,  of  St.  Paul,  a  veteran  engineer  and  contractor,  did  it  all  be- 
tween April  2  and  October  19.  All  materials  and  subsistence 
had  to  be  hauled  to  the  front,  from  the  base  of  supplies.  The 
army  slept  in  its  own  tents,  shanties,  and  cars.  The  grading  was 
cast  up  from  the  side  ditches,  sometimes  by  carts,  and  sometimes 
by  the  digging  machine. 

Everything  was  done  with  military  organization,  except  that 
what  was  left  behind  was  a  railway  and  not  earth-work  lines  of  de- 
fence. Assuming  that  this  railway,  ready  for  its  equipment,  cost 
$15,100  per  mile,  or  $8,175,000,  and  if  it  be  true,  as  statisticians 
tell  us,  that  every  dollar  expended  in  building  railways  in  a  new 
country  adds  ten  to  the  value  of  land  and  other  property,  then  this 
six  months'  campaign  shows  a  solid  increase  of  the  wealth  of  our 


J^AILIVAYS  AND   DEMOCRACY.  45 

country  of  over  eighty  millions  of  dollars.  Had  it  been  necessary 
for  our  Government  to  keep  an  army  of  observation  of  the  same 
size  on  the  Canadian  frontier,  there  would  have  been  a  dead  loss 
of  over  eight  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  only  result  would  have 
been  a  slight  reduction  of  the  Treasury  surplus. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  railway  was  built  after  the 
American  system  :  when  the  rails  were  laid,  so  as  to  carry  trains, 
it  was  not  much  more  than  half  finished  ;  the  track  had  to  be  bal- 
lasted, the  temporary  wooden  structures  replaced  by  stone  and 
iron,  and  many  buildings  and  miles  of  sidings  were  yet  to  be  con- 
structed. But  it  began  to  earn  money  from  the  very  day  the  last 
rail  was  laid,  and  out  of  its  earnings,  and  the  credit  thereby  ac- 
quired, it  will  complete  itself. 

And  this  is  only  one  instance  out  of  many.  The  armies  of 
peace  are  working  all  over  our  country,  increasing  our  wealth,  and 
binding  all  parts  into  a  common  whole.  We  have  here  the  true 
answer  to  the  Carlyles  and  the  Ruskins  who  ask:  "What  is  the 
use  of  all  this  ?  Is  a  man  any  better  who  goes  sixty  miles  an  hour 
than  one  who  went  live  miles  an  hour?  "  "  Were  we  not  happier 
when  our  fields  were  covered  with  their  golden  harvests,  than 
now,  when  our  wheat  is  brought  to  us  from  Dakota  ?  " 

The  grand  function  of  the  railway  is  to  change  the  whole  basis 
of  civilization  from  military  to  industrial.  The  talent,  the  energy, 
the  money,  which  is  expended  in  maintaining  the  whole  of  Europe 
as  an  armed  camp  is  here  expended  in  building  and  maintaining 
railways,  with  their  army  of  two  millions  of  men.  Without  the 
help  of  railways  the  rebellion  of  the  Southern  States  could  never 
have  been  put  down,  and  two  great  standing  armies  would  have 
been  necessary.  By  the  railways,  aided  by  telegraphs,  it  is  easy 
to  extend  our  Federal  system  over  an  entire  continent,  and  thus 
dispense  forever  with  standing  armies. 

The  moral  effect  of  this  upon  Europe  is  great,  but  its  physical 
effect  is  still  greater.  American  railways  have  nearly  abolished 
landlordism  in  Ireland,  and  they  will  one  day  abolish  it  in  Eng- 
land, and  over  the  continent  of  Europe.  So  long  as  Europe  was 
dependent  for  food  upon  its  own  fields,  the  owner  of  those  fields 
could  fix  his  own  rental.  This  he  can  no  longer  do,  owing  to  the 
cheapness  of  transportation  from  Australia  and  from  the  prairies  of 


4-6  THE  BUILDING    OF  A   RAILWAY. 

America,  due  to  the  inventions  of  Watt,  the  Stephensons,  Besse- 
mer, and  Holley. 

With  the  wealth  of  the  landlord  his  political  power  will  pass 
away.  The  government  of  European  countries  will  pass  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  great  landowners,  but  not  into  those  of  the 
rabble,  as  is  feared.  It  will  pass  into  the  same  hands  that  govern 
America  to-day — the  territorial  democracy,  the  owners  of  small 
farms,  and  the  manufacturers  and  merchants.  When  this  comes  to 
pass,  attempts  will  be  made  to  settle  international  disputes  by  ar- 
bitration instead  of  war,  following  the  example  of  the  Geneva  arbi- 
tration between  the  two  o-reatest  industrial  nations  of  the  world. 
Whether  our  Federal  system  will  ever  extend  to  the  rest  of  the 
world,  no  one  knows,  but  we  do  know  that  without  railways  it 
would  be  impossible. 

When  we  consider  the  effects  of  all  these  wonderful  changes 
upon  the  sum  of  human  happiness,  we  must  admit  that  the  engineer 
should  justly  take  rank  with  statesmen  and  soldiers,  and  that  no 
ofreater  benefactors  to  the  human  race  can  be  named  than  the 
Stephensons  and  their  American  disciples — Allen,  Rogers,  Jervis, 
Winans,  Latrobe,  and  Holley. 


FEATS  OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


By  JOHN  BOGART. 


Development  of  the  Rail — Problems  for  the  Engineer-r— How  Heights  are  Climbed — The 
Use  of  Trestles — Construction  on  a  Mountain  Side — Engineering  on  Rope  Ladders — 
Through  the  Portals  of  a  Canon — Feats  on  the  Oroya  Railroad,  Peru — Nochistongo 
Cut — Rack  Rails  for  Heavy  Grades — Difficulties  in  Tunnel  Construction — Bridge 
Foundations — Cribs  and  Pneumatic  Caissons — How  Men  work  under  Water — The 
Construction  of  Stone  Arches — Wood  and  Iron  in  Bridge-building — Great  Suspen- 
sion Bridges — The  Niagara  Cantilever  and  the  enormous  Forth  Bridge — Elevated 
and  Underground  Roads— Responsibilities  of  the  Civil  Engineer. 


'HERE  are  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  miles  of  railway  in  the 
United  States  :  three  hundred  thou- 
sand miles  of  rails — in  length  enough 
to  make  twelve  steel  girdles  for  the 
earth's  circumference.  This  enormous 
length  of  rail  is  wonderful — we  do  not 
really  grasp  its  significance.  But  the 
rail  itself,  the  little  section  of  steel,  is 
''  ^'  an    engineering    feat.      The   change  of  its  form 

from  the  curious  and  clumsy  iron  pear-head  of  thirty  years  ago  to 
the  present  refined  section  of  steel  is  a  scientific  development.  It 
is  now  a  beam  whose  every  dimension  and  curve  and  angle  are 
exactly  suited  to  the  tremendous  work  it  has  to  do.  The  loads  it 
carries  are  enormous,  the  blows  it  receives  are  heavy  and  con- 
stant, but  it  carries  the  loads  and  bears  the  blows  and  does  its  duty. 
The  locomotive  and  the  modern  passenger  and  freight  cars  are 
great  achievements  ;  and  so  is  the  little  rail  which  carries  them  all. 
The  railway  to-day  is  one  of  the  matter-of-fact  associations  of 
our  active  life.  We  use  it  so  constantly  that  it  requires  some  little 
effort  to  think  of  it  as  a  wonderful  thing;    a  creation  of  man's  inge- 


48  FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 

nuity,  which  did  not  exist  when  our  grandfathers  were  young.  Its 
long  bridges,  high  viaducts,  and  dark  tunnels  may  be  remarked  and 
remembered  by  the  traveller,  but  the  narrow  way  of  steel,  the  road 
itself,  seems  but  a  simple  work.  And  yet  the  problem  of  location, 
the  determination,  foot  by  foot  and  mile  by  mile,  of  where  the  line 
must  go,  calls  in  its  successful  solution  for  the  highest  skill  of  the 
eno-ineer,  whose  profession  before  the  railway  was  created  hardly 
existed  at  all.  Locomotives  now  climb  heights  which  a  few  years 
ago  no  vehicle  on  wheels  could  ascend.  The  writer,  with  some 
engineer  friends,  was  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  during  the 
summer  of  1887,  and  saw  a  train  of  very  intelligent  donkeys  loaded 
with  ore  from  the  mines,  to  which  no  access  could  be  had  but  by 
those  sure-footed  beasts.  Within  a  year  one  of  that  party  of  en- 
gineers had  located  and  was  building  a  railway  to  those  very 
mines.  No  heights  seem  too  great  to-day,  no  valleys  too  deep,  no 
canons  too  forbidding,  no  streams  too  wide  ;  if  commerce  demands, 
the  engineer  will  respond  and  the  railways  will  be  built. 

The  location  of  the  line  of  a  railway  through  difficult  country 
requires  the  trained  judgment  of  an  engineer  of  special  experience, 
and  the  most  difficult  country  is  not  by  any  means  that  which  might 
at  first  be  supposed.  A  line  through  a  narrow  pass  almost  locates 
itself.  But  the  approach  to  a  summit  through  rolling  country  is 
often  a  serious  problem.  The  rate  of  grade  must  be  kept  as  light 
as  possible,  and  must  never  exceed  the  prescribed  maximum.  The 
cuttings  and  the  embankments  must  be  as  shallow  as  they  can  be 
made — the  quantities  of  material  taken  from  the  excavations  should 
be  just  about  enough  to  make  adjacent  embankments.  The  curves 
must  be  few  and  of  light  radius — never  exceeding  an  arranged 
limit.  The  line  must  always  be  kept  as  direct  as  these  consider- 
ations will  allow — so  that  the  final  location  will  give  the  shortest 
practicable  economical  distance  from  point  to  point.  Many  a  mile 
of  railway  over  which  we  travel  now  at  the  highest  speed  has  been 
a  weary  problem  to  the  engineer  of  location,  and  he  has  often  ac- 
complished a  really  greater  success  by  securing  a  line  which  seems 
to  closely  fit  the  country  over  which  it  runs  without  marking  itself 
sharply  upon  nature's  moulding,  than  if  he  had  with  apparent  bold- 
ness cut  deep  into  the  hills  and  raised  embankments  and  viaducts 
high  over  lowlands  and  valleys. 


MOUNTAIN  RAILROADING. 


49 


But  roads  must  run  through 
many  regions  where  very  differ- 
ent measures  must  be  taken  to 
secure  a  location  practicable  for 
traffic.  For  instance,  a  line  at 
a  high  elevation  approaches  a 
wide  valley  which  it  must  cross. 
The  rate  of  descent  is  fixed  by 
the  established  maximum  grade, 
and  the  sides  of  the  valley  are 
much  steeper  than  that  rate. 
Then   the   engineer  must  gain 


distance  —  that   is   to 


say, 


he 


must  make  the  line  long  enough 


View  Down  the  Blue   fiom    Rucky    Point,    Denver,   South    Park 
and  Pacific  Railroad;   showing  successive  tiers  of  railway. 


to  overcome  the  vertical  height.     This  can  often  be  accomplished 
by   carrying   it  up  the  valley  on  one  side  and  down  on  the  other. 

4 


50  FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 

Tributary  valleys  can  be  made  use  of  if  necessary,  and  the  desired 
crossing  thus  accomplished.  But  at  times  even  these  expedients 
will  not  suffice.  Then  the  line  is  made  to  bend  upon  itself  and 
wind  down  the  hillside  upon  benches  cut  into  the  earth,  or  rock, 
curving  at  points  where  nature  affords  any  sort  of  opportunity,  and 
reaching  the  valley  at  last  in  long  convolutions  like  the  path  of  a 
great  serpent  on  the  mountain  side.  These  lines  often  show  sev- 
eral tiers  of  railway,  one  directly  above  the  other,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  illustrations  on  pages  49  and  51. 

The  long  trestle  shown  in  the  illustration  opposite  is  an  example 
of  an  expedient  often  of  the  greatest  service  in  railway  construction. 
These  trestles  are  built  of  wood,  simply  but  strongly  framed  to- 
frether,  and  are  entirely  effective  for  the  transport  of  traffic  for  a 
number  of  years.  Then  they  must  be  renewed,  or,  what  is  better, 
be  replaced  by  embankment,  which  can  be  gradually  made  by 
depositing  the  material  from  cars  on  the  trestle  itself  The  trestle 
illustrated  is  interesting  as  conforming  to  the  curve  of  the  line, 
which  in  that  country,  the  mountains  of  Colorado,  w^as  probably  a 
necessity  of  location. 

Where  the  direct  turning  of  a  line  upon  itself  may  not  be  ne- 
cessary, there  may  and  often  must  be  bold  work  done  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  road  upon  a  mountain  side.  It  must  be  supported 
where  necessary  by  walls  built  up  from  suitable  foundations,  often 
only  secured  at  a  great  depth  below  the  grade  of  the  road.  Pro- 
jecting points  of  rock  must  be  cut  through,  and  any  practicable 
natural  shelf  or  favorable  formation  must  be  made  use  of,  as  in  the 
picture  on  page  61.  In  some  of  the  mountain  locations,  galleries 
have  been  cut  directly  into  the  rock,  the  cliff  overhanging  the  road- 
way, and  the  line  being  carried  in  a  horizontal  cut  or  niche  in  the 
solid  wall. 

The  Oroya  and  the  Chimbote  railways  in  South  America 
demanded  constant  locations  of  this  character.  At  many  points 
it  was  necessary  to  suspend  the  persons  making  the  preliminary 
measurements  from  the  cliff  above.  The  engineer  who  made  these 
locations  told  the  writer  that  on  the  Oroya  line  the  galleries  were 
often  from  100  to  400  feet  above  the  base  of  the  cliff,  and  were  gener- 
ally reached  from  above.     Rope  ladders  were  used  to  great  advan- 


SURVEYING   ON  ROPE  LADDERS.  53 

tage.  One  64  feet  long  and  one  106  feet  long  covered  the  usual 
practice,  and  were  sometimes  spliced  together.  The  side  ropes 
were  f  and  i^  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  rounds  of  wood  \\  inches 
in  diameter,  and  16  inches  and  24  inches  long.  These  were  notched 
at  the  ends  and  passed  through  the  ropes,  to  which  they  were  after- 
ward lashed.  These  ladders  could  be  rolled  up  and  carried  about 
on  donkeys  or  mules.  When  swung  over  the  side  of  a  cliff  and 
secured  at  the  top,  and  when  practicable  at  the  bottom,  they  formed 
a  very  useful  instrument  in  location  and  construction.  For  simple 
examination  of  the  cliff,  and  for  rough  or  broken  slopes  not  exceed- 
ing 70  to  80  degrees,  an  active  fellow  would,  after  some  experience, 
walk  up  and  down  such  a  slope  simply  grasping  the  rope  in  his 
hands.  If  required  to  do  any  work  he  would  secure  the  rope 
about  his  body,  or  wind  it  around  his  arm,  leaving  his  hands  com- 
paratively free  for  light  work. 

The  boatswain's  chair — consisting  of  a  wooden  seat  6  inches 
wide  and  two  feet  long,  through  the  ends  of  which  pass  the  side 
ropes,  looped  at  the  top,  and  having  their  ends  knotted— is  a  par- 
ticularly convenient  seat  to  use  where  cliffs  overhang  to  a  slight 
degree.  The  riggers  were  generally  Portuguese  sailors,  who 
seemed  to  have  more  agility  and  less  fear  than  any  other  men  to 
be  found.  At  Cuesta  Blanca,  on  the  Oroya,  a  prominent  discolora- 
tion on  the  cliff  served  as  a  triangulation  point  for  locating  the  chief 
gallery.  Men  were  swung  over  the  side  of  the  cliff  in  a  cage  about 
2\  feet  by  6  feet,  open  at  the  top  and  on  the  side  next  the  rock. 
This  was  a  peculiar  cliff  about  1,000  feet  high,  rising  from  the  river 
at  a  general  slope  of  about  70  degrees.  The  grade  line  of  the  road 
was  420  feet  above  the  river.  The  Chileno  miners  climbed  up  a 
rope  ladder  to  a  large  seam  near  the  grade,  where  they  lived  ;  pro- 
visions, water,  etc.,  being  hoisted  up  to  them.  The  first  men  sent 
over  the  cliff  to  begin  the  preliminary  work  were  lowered  in  a  cage 
and  took  their  dinners  with  them,  for  fear  they  would  not  return  to 
the  work,  and  that  unless  a  genuine  start  was  made  others  could 
not  be  induced  to  take  their  places.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  80  per 
cent,  of  the  sixty  odd  tunnels  on  the  Oroya  and  the  seven  tunnels. 
on  the  Chimbote  lines  were  located  and  constructed  on  lines 
determined  by  triangulation,  and  the  results  were  so  satisfactory 
that  the  method  may  be  depended  upon  as  the  best  system  for 


54 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


determining-  topo- 
graphical data  or 
for  locating  and 
constructing  the 
lines  in  any  simi- 
lar locality. 

Where    the 
rocks  close  in  to- 
orether,  as  in  some 
of  the    canons  of 
our     Southwest, 
the  railway  curves 
about    them    and 
finds  its  way  often 
where  one  would 
hardly  suppose  a 
decent      wagon 
road    could   be 
built.     The    por- 
tals of  the  Grand 
River    Canon,   as 
here    shown,  pre- 
sent  such  a  line, 
passing     through 
narrow  gateways  of  rock  rising  precipitously    on   either  side   to 
enormous  heights. 


Denver  and   Rio  Grande   Ra 


GREAT  BRIDGES   OVER   CANONS  AND    VALLEYS. 


55 


When  such  a  canon  or  a  narrow  valley  directly  crosses  the  line 
of  the  road,  it  must  be  spanned  by  a  bridge  or  viaduct.  The  Ken- 
tucky River  Bridge,  shown  below,  is  an  instance.  The  Verrugas 
Bridge,  on  the  Lima  and  Oroya  Railroad  in  Peru,  is  another.  This 
bridge  is  at  an  elevation  of  5,836  feet  above  sea-level.     It  crosses  a 


The   Kentucky   River   Cantilever,  on  the  Cincinnati   Soutnern   Rail 


ravine  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  small  stream.  The  bridge  is 
575  feet  long,  in  four  spans,  and  is  supported  by  iron  towers,  the 
central  one  of  which  is  252  feet  in  height.  The  construction  was 
accomplished  entirely  from  above,  the  material  all  having  been 
delivered  at  the  top  of  the  ravine,  and  the  erection  was  made  by 
lowering  each  piece  to  its  position.  This  was  done  by  the  use  of 
two  wire-rope  cables,  suspended  across  the  ravine  from  temporary 
towers  at  each  end  of  the  bridge. 

On  the  line  of  the  same  Oroya  Railroad  is  a  striking  example 
of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  such  mountain  country  and  of  the 
method  by  which  they  have  been  overcome.  A  tunnel  reaches  a 
narrow  gorge,  a  truss  is  thrown  across,  and  the  tunnel  continued. 


56 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Truss  over  Ravine,  and  Tunnel,  Oroya  Railroad,   Peru. 


Nature's  wildest  scenery,  the  deep  ravine,  the  mountain  diffs, 
and  the  graceful  truss  carrying  the  locomotive  and  train  safely  over 
what  would  seem  an  impossible  pass,  here  combine  to  give  a  vivid 
illustration  of  an  eneineerine  feat. 

The  location  of  a  part  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railway  through 
the  cut  of  Nochistongo  is  peculiarly  interesting.  Far  underneath 
the  level  of  this  line  of  railway  there  was  skilfully  constructed,  in 
1608,  a  tunnel  which  at  that  period  was  a  very  bold  piece  of  engin- 


THE  LARGEST  CUT  EVER   MADE. 


57 


eering.  It  was  designed  to  drain  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  which  has 
no  natural  outlet.  This  tunnel  was  more  than  six  miles  lono-  and 
ten  feet  wide.     It  was  driven  through  the  formation  called  tepetaie, 


The   Nochistongo  Cut,    Mexican   Central   Railway. 


a  peculiar  earth  with  strata  of  sand  and  marl.  It  was  finished  in 
eleven  months.  At  first  excavated  without  a  lining,  it  was  after- 
ward faced  with  masonry.  It  was  not  entirely  protected  when  a 
great  flood  came,  the  dikes  above  gave  way,  and  the  tunnel  became 
obstructed.  The  City  of  Mexico  was  flooded,  and  it  was  decided 
that,  instead  of  repairing  the  tunnel  an  open  cut  should  be  made. 
The  engineer  who  had  constructed  the  tunnel,  Enrico  Martinez, 
was  put  in  charge  of  this  enormous  undertaking,  and  others  took 
his  place  after  his  death.  The  cut  is  believed  to  be  the  largest  ever 
made  in  the  world.  For  more  than  a  century  the  work  was  con- 
tinued. Its  greatest  depth  is  now  200  feet.  It  was  cut  deeper,  but 
has  partially  filled  with  the  washings  from  the  slopes.  The  cost 
was  enormous,  more  than  6,000,000  dollars  in  silver  having  been 
actually  disbursed  !  Wages  for  workmen  were  then  from  9  to  1 2 
cents  a  day.  All  convicts  sentenced  to  hard  labor  were  put  at  work 
in  the  great  cut.  The  loss  of  life  was  very  great.  Writers  of  the 
time  state  that  more  than  100,000  Indians  perished  while  engaged 
in  the  work. 


58 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Mount   W<.shington    Rack   Railrc=. 


When  a  line  of  rail- 
way encountered  a 
grade  too  steep  for  as- 
cent by  the  traction 
of  the  locomotive,  the 
earlier  engineers  adopted  the 
inclined  plane.  Such  planes  were 
in  use  at  important  points  during 
many  years.  Notable  instances 
were  those  by  which  traffic  was 
carried  across  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  connecting  on 
each  side  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railway  lines.  These 
old  planes  are  still  visible 
from  the  present  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  where  it 
crosses  the  summit  west  of  Altoona.  The  planes  were  operated 
by  stationary  engines  acting  upon  cables  attached  to  the  cars. 
These  cables  passed  around  drums  at  the  head  of  the  planes,  the 
weight  of  the  cars  on  one  track  partially 
balancinof  those  on  the  other.  Similar 
planes  were  in  use  also  at  Albany, 
Schenectady,  and 
other  places.  "~ 

Another  effective  - 
expedient  is  the  cen- 
tral rack  rail.  No 
better  or  more  suc- 
cessful example  of 
this  method  of  con- 
struction can  be  giv- 
en than  the  Mount 
Washington  Railway, 
illustrated  above. 
The  road  was  com- 
pleted   in    1869.      Its 

lengtn   is  2,'^  miles  and  Trestle  on  P&rtland  and  Ogdensburg  Railway,  Crawford  Notch,  White  Mountains. 


RACK  RAILWAYS  FOR   MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING.  59 

its  total  rise  3,625  feet.  Its  steepest  grade  is  about  i  foot  rise  in 
every  3  feet  in  lengtli ;  the  average  grade  is  i  in  4.  It  is  built  of 
heavy  timber,  well  bolted  to  the  rock.  Low  places  are  spanned  by 
substantial  trestle  work.  The  gauge  of  the  road  is  4  feet  7^  inches, 
and  it  is  provided  with  the  two  ordinary  rails  and  also  the  cen- 
tral rack  rail,  which  is  really  like  an  iron  ladder,  the  sides  being  ot 
angle  iron  and  the  cross-pieces  of  round  iron  \\  inches  in  diameter 
and  4  inches  apart.  Into  these  plays  the  central  cog-wheel  on  the 
locomotive,  which  thus  climbs  this  iron  ladder  with  entire  safety. 
Very  complete  arrangements  are  made  to  control  the  descent  of  the 
train  in  case  of  accident  to  the  machinery.  The  locomotive  is  always 
below  the  train,  and  pushes  it  up  the  mountain.  Many  thousands 
of  passengers  have  been  transported  every  year  without  accident. 

The  rack  railroad  ascending  the  Righi,  in  Switzerland,  was 
copied  after  the  Mount  Washing- 
ton line.  Some  improvements  in 
the  construction  of  the  rack  rail 
and  attachments  have  been  intro- 
duced upon  mountain  roads  in 
Germany,  and  this  system  seems 
very  advantageous  for  use  in  ex- 
ceptionally steep  locations. 


When  a  line  of  railway  meets 
in  its  course  a  barrier  of  rock,  it  is 
often  best  to  cut  directly  through. 
If  the  grade  is  not  too  far  below 
the  surface  of  the  rock,  the  cut  is 
made  like  a  oreat  trench  with  the 
sides  as   steep   as   the   nature   of  a  senes  of  Tunnels. 

the  material  will  allow.    Very  deep 

cuts  are,  however,  not  desirable.  The  rains  bring  down  upon 
their  slopes  the  softer  material  from  above,  and  the  frost  detaches 
pieces  of  rock  which,  falling,  may  result  in  serious  accidents  to 
trains.  Snow  lodges  in  these  deep  cuts,  at  times  entirely  stop- 
ping traffic,  as  in  the  blizzard  near  New  York,  in  March,  1888. 
A  tunnel,  therefore,  while  perhaps  greater  in  first  cost  than  a  mod- 
erately deep  cut,  is  really  often  the  more  economical  expedient. 


6o 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Tunnel  at  the  Foot  of  Mount  St.  Stephen,  on  the  Canadian   Pacific. 
(The  glacier  8,200  feet  above  the  Railway.) 


And  here  is  as  good  a  place,  perhaps,  as  any  other  in  this 
chapter,  to  say  that  true  engineering  is  the  economical  adaptation 
of  the  means  and  opportunities  existing,  to  the  end  desired.  Civil 
engineering  was  defined,  by  one  of  the  greatest  of  England's  engi- 
neers, as  "  the  art  of  directing  the  great  sources  of  power  in  nature 
for  the  use  and  convenience  of  man,"  and  that  definition  was 
adopted  as  a  fundamental  idea  in  the  charter  of  the  English  Insti- 
tution of  Civil  Engineers.  But  the  development  of  engineering- 
works  in  America  has  been  effected  successfully  by  American  en- 


THE    TEST  OF   GOOD   ENGINEERING. 


6i 


gineers  only  because  they  have  appreciated  another  side  of  the 
problem  presented  to  them.  A  past  president  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  a  man  of  rare  judgment  and  remark- 
able executive  ability,  the  late  Ashbel  Welch,  said,  in  discussing  a 
great  undertaking  proposed  by  an  eminent  Frenchman  :  "  That  is 
the  best  engineering,  not  which  makes  the  most  splendid,  or  even 
the  most  perfect,  work,  but  that  which  makes  a  work  that  answers 
the  purpose  well,  at  the  least  cost."  And  it  may  be  remarked,  as 
to  the  project  which  he  was  then 
discussing,  that  after  a  very  large 
expenditure  and  an  experience  of 
eight  years  since  that  discussion, 
the  plans  of  the  work  were  modi- 
fied and  the  identical  suggestions 
made  by  Mr.  Welch  of  a  radical 
economical  change  were  adopted 
in  1888.*  Another  emi- 
nent Ameri- 
can engineer, 
whose  prac- 
tical experi- 
e  n  c  e  h  a  s 
been  gained 
in  the  con- 
struction and 
engineering 
supervision 
of  more  than 
five  thousand 
miles  of  rail- 
way, said,  in 
his  address 
as  President 
of  the  Ameri- 
can    Society 

of  Civil  Encrineers :  "The  hio-h  object  of  our  profession  is  to  consider 
and  determine  the  most  economic  use  of  time,  power,  and  matter. 

'Reference  is  made  to  the  substitution  of  locks  in  the  Panama  Canal  for  the  original  project  of  a 
canal  at  the  sea-level. 


Peha  de   Mora 

on  the  La  Guayra  and  CarScas  Railway, 

Venezuela. 


62 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING, 


Petspective  View  of  St.  Gothard  Spiral  Tunnels,  in  the 
Alps. 


That  true  economy,  which 
finally  secures  in  a  completed 
work  the  best  results  from  the 
investment  of  capital,  in  first 
cost  and  continued  maintenance,  is  an  essential  element  in  the  con- 
sideration of  any  really  great  engineering  feat. 

The  difficulties  involved  in  the  construction  of  a  tunnel,  after 
the  line  and  dimensions  have  been  determined,  depend  generally 
upon  the  nature  of  the  material  found  as  the  work  advances.  Solid 
rock  presents  really  the  fewest  difficulties,  but  it  is  seldom  that 
tunnels  of  considerable  leneth  occur  without  meetinor  material 
which  requires  special  provision  for  successful  treatment.  In  some 
cases  great  portions  of  the  rock,  where  the  roof  of  the  tunnel  is  to 
be,  press  downward  with  enormous  weight,  being  detached  from 
the  adjacent  mass  by  the  occurrence  of  natural  seams. 

At  other  places  soft  material  may  be  encountered,  and  the  pas- 
sage then  is  attended  with  great  difficulty.  Temporary  supports, 
generally  of  timber,  and  of  great  strength,  have  often  to  be  used 
at  every  foot  of  progress  to  prevent  the  material  from  forcing  its 
way  into  the  excavation  already  made. 

In  long  tunnels  the  ventilation  is  a  difficult  problem,  although 
the  use  of  compressed  air  drills  has  aided  greatly  in  its  solution. 

Among  the  great  tunnels  which  have  been  excavated,  the  St. 


ST.   GOTHARD   SPIRAL    TUNNELS. 


Plan  of  St.  Gothard    Spiral   Tunnels. 


Gothard  is  the  most  remarkable.     It  is  9^  miles  long,  with  a  sec- 
tion 26i  feet  wide  by  19I  feet  high.     The  work  on  this  tunnel  was 
continuous,  and   it   required  9^ 
years  for  its  completion. 

The  Mont  Cenis  tunnel,  8^ 
miles  in  length,  was  completed 
in  12  years. 

The  Hoosac  Tunnel,  4f 
miles  in  length,  26  feet  wide 
and  2\\  feet  high,  was  not  pros- 
ecuted continuously  ;  it  was 
completed  in  1876.  These  tunnels  are  notable  chiefly  on  account 
of  their  great  length  ;  there  are  others  of  more  moderate  extent 
which  have  peculiar  features  ;  one,  illustrated  on  the  preceding 
page,  is  unique.  This  tunnel  is  a  portion  of  the  St.  Gothard  Rail- 
way, and  not  very  far  distant  from  the  great  tunnel  referred  to 
above.    In  the  descent  of  the  mountain  it  was  absolutely  necessary 

to  secure  a  longer  distance  than  a  straight 
line  or  an  ordinary  curve  would  give  ;   the 
line  was  therefore  doubly  curved  upon  itself 
It  enters  the  mountain  at  a  high  elevation, 
describes  a  circle  through  the  rock  and, 
constantly  descending,  reappears  under  it- 
self at  the  side ;  still  descending,  it  enters 
the   mountain   at  another  point  and  con- 
tinues in  another  circular  tunnel 
until    it   finally    emerges    again, 
under  itself,  but  at  a  compara- 
tively  short    horizontal   distance 
from  its  first  entry,  having  gained 
the  required   descent  by  a  con- 
tinued grade  through  the  tunnels. 
The  profile  above  shows  the  de- 
scent,   upon    a    greatly  reduced 
scale,   the  heavy    lines  marking 
where  the  line  is  in  the  tunnel. 
The  remarkable   success  achieved  by    engineers    in    securing 
suitable  foundations  at  great  depths  is,  of  course,  hardly  known  to 


Profile  of  the  Same. 


64 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Portal   of  a  Finished   Tunnel  ;   showing  Canaeron's    Cone,  Colorado. 


the  thousands  who  constantly  see  the  structures  supported  on 
those  foundations,  but  in  any  fair  consideration  of  such  engineering 
achievements  this  must  not  be  omitted.  The  beautiful  bridge 
built  by  Captain  Eads  over  the  Mississippi  River  at  St.  Louis, 
bold  in  its  design  and  excellent  in  its  execution,  is  an  object  of  ad- 


Portal  of  a  Tunnel  in  Process  of  Construction. 


BRIDGE   FOUNDATIONS    UNDER    WATER. 


^7 


miration  to  all  who  visit  it,  but  the  impression  of  its  importance 
would  be  greatly  magnified  if  the  part  below  the  surface  of  the 
water,  which  bears  the  massive  towers,    and  which  extends  to  a 


Railway  Pass  at  Rocky  Point  in  the   Rocky   Mountains. 

depth  twice  as  great  as  the   height  of  the  pier  above   the  water, 
could  be  visible. 

The  simplest  and  most  effective  foundation  is,  of  course;  on 
solid  rock.  In  many  localities  reliable  foundations  are  built  upon 
earth,  when  it  exists  at  a  suitable  depth  and  of  such  a  character  as 
properly  to  sustain  the  weight.  Foundations  under  water,  when 
rock  or  good  material  occurs  at  moderate  depth,  are  constructed 
frequently  by  means  of  the  coffer-dam,  which  is  simply  an  enclos- 
ure made  water-tight  and  properly  connected  with  the  bottom  of 
the  stream.  The  water  is  then  pumped  out  and  the  foundation 
and  masonry  built  within  this  temporary  dam.  When  the  mate- 
rial is  not  of  a  character  to  sustain  the  weight,  the  next  expedient 
is  the  use  of  piles,  which  are  driven  into  the  ground,  often  to  a 
very  considerable  depth,  and  sustain  the  load  placed  upon  them  by 
the  friction  upon  the  sides  of  the  piles  of  the  material  in  which  they 
are  driven.  It  is  seldom  that  dependence  is  placed  upon  the  load 
being  transferred  from  the  top  to  the  point  of  the  pile,  even  though 
the  point  may  have  penetrated  to  a  comparatively  solid  material. 
Wood  is  generally  used  for  piles,  and  where  the  ground  is  per- 
manently saturated  there  seems  to  be  hardly  any  known  limit  to 


68 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


its  durability.  The  substructure  of  foundations,  where  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  will  always  be  in  contact  with  water,  can  be,  and 
generally  is,  of  wood,  and  the  permanency  of  such  foundations 
is  well  established.  An  exception  to  this,  however,  occurs  in 
salt-water,  particularly  in  warmer  countries,  where  the  ravages  of 
the  minute  Teredo  Navalis,  and  of  the  still  more  minute  Limnoria 
Terebrans,  destroy  the  wood  in  a  very  short  period  of  time. 
These  insects,  however,  do  not  work  below  the  ground-line  or  bed 
of  the  water.  In  many  special  cases  hollow 
iron  piles  are  used  successfully. 

The  ordinary  method  of  forcing  a  pile  into 
the  ground  is  by  repeated  blows  of  a  hammer 
of  moderate  weight ;  better  success  being  ob- 
tained by  frequent  blows  of  the  hammer,  lifted 
to  a  slight  elevation,  than  results  from  a  greater 
fall,  there  being  danger  also  in  the  latter  case 
of  injuring  the  material  of  the  pile.     The  use 
of  the  water-jet  for  sinking  piles,  particularly  in 
sand,  is   interesting.     A  tube,  generally 
of  ordinary  gas-pipe,  open  at  the  lower 
end,  is  fastened  to  the  pile  ;  the  upper 
end  is  connected  by  a  hose  to  a  power- 
ful pump  and,  the  pile  being  placed  in 
position    on    the    surface    of   the    sand, 
water    is  forced    through  the  tube  and 
excavates  a  passage  for  the  pile,  which, 
by  the  application  of  very  light  pressure, 
descends  rapidly  to   the  desired   depth. 
The  stream  of  water   must  be  continu- 
ous, as  it  rises  along  the  side  of  the  pile 
and   keeps  the   sand  in  a  mobile  state. 
Immediately  upon  the  cessation  of  pump- 
ing, the  sand  settles  about  the  pile,  and 
it  is  sometimes  quite  impossible  to  after- 
ward move  it.     The  water-jet  is  used  in 
sinking    iron    piles    by    conducting    the 
water  through  the  interior  of  the  hollow  pile  and  out  of  a  hole  at 
its  j)oint.     The  piles  of  the  great  iron  pier  at  Coney  Island  were 


Bridge  Pier  Founded  on  Piles. 


THE   PNEUMATIC  CAISSON,  69 

sunk    with  great  celerity  in  this   way.     The  illustration  opposite 
shows  one  of  the  piers  of  a  bridge  founded  upon  wooden  piling. 

In  many  cases  it  would  be  impossible  to  drive  piling  in  such  a 
way  as  to  insure  the  durability  of  the  structure  above  it.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  the  foundations  of  structures  crossing  many  of 
our  rivers,  where  the  bottom  is  of  material  which,  in  time  of  flood, 
sometimes  scours  to  very  remarkable  depths  ;  the  material  often 
being  replaced  when  the  flood  has  subsided.  The  expedient 
adopted  is  the  pneumatic  tube,  or  the  caisson.  Both  are  merely 
applications  of  the  well-known  principle  of  the  diving-bell.  In  the 
former  case  hollow  iron  tubes,  open  at  the  bottom,  are  sunk  to 
considerable  depths,  the  water  being  expelled  by  air  pumped  into 
the  tubes  at  a  pressure  sufficient  to  resist  the  weight  of  the  water. 
Entrance  to  the  tubes  is  obtained  by  an  air-lock  at  the  top,  the 
material  is  excavated  from  the  inside,  and  sufficient  weight  placed 
upon  the  tube  to  force  it  gradually  to  the  desired  depth.  When 
that  depth  is  attained,  the  tubes  are  filled  with  concrete,  and  thus 
solid  pillars  of  hydraulic  concrete,  surrounded  by  cast-iron  tubing, 
are  obtained. 

The  pneumatic  caisson  is  an  enlargement  of  this  idea  of  the  div- 
ing-bell. The  caisson  is  simply  a  great  chamber  or  box,  open  at 
the  bottom  ;  the  outside  bottom  edges  are  shod  and  cased  with 
iron  so  as  to  give  a  cutting  surface  ;  the  roof  and  sides  are  made 
of  timber,  thoroughly  bolted  together,  and  of  such  strength  as  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  the  structure  to  be  finally  founded  upon  it. 
The  chamber  in  the  open  bottom  is  of  sufficient  height  to  enable 
the  laborers  to  work  comfortably  in  it.  This  caisson  is  generally 
constructed  upon  the  shore  in  the  vicinity  of  the  structure  and 
towed  to  the  point  where  the  foundation  is  to  be  sunk.  Air  is  sup- 
plied by  powerful  pumps  and  is  forced  into  the  working  cham- 
ber. The  pressure  of  the  air  of  course  increases  constantly  as 
the  caisson  descends  ;  it  must  always  be  sufficient  to  overbalance 
the  weight  of  the  water  and  thus  prevent  the  water  from  enter- 
ing the  chamber. 

Descent  to  the  caisson  is  made  through  a  tube,  generally  of 
wrought  iron,  and  having,  at  a  suitable  point,  an  air-lock,  which  is 
substantially  an  enlargement  of  the  tube,  forming  a  chamber,  and 
of  sufficient  size  to  accommodate  a  number  of  men.     This  air-lock 


yo 


FEATS   OF  RAJLJVAY  ENGINEERING. 


is  provided  with  doors  or  valves  at  the  top  and  at  the  bottom,  both 
opening  downward,  and  also  with  small  tubes  connecting  the  air- 
lock  with   the  chamber   below   and  with   the  external  air  above. 


"-U— ^;-    Cancntt 


Pneumatic  Caisson. 


Entrance  to  the  caisson  is  effected  through  this  air-lock.  The 
lower  door,  or  valve,  being  at  the  bottom,  closes  and  is  kept  closed 
by  the  pressure  of  the  air  in  the  caisson  below.  After  the  air-lock 
is  entered  the  upper  door  or  valve  is  shut,  and  held  shut  a  few 
moments,  and  the  tube  connecting  with  the  outer  air  is  closed;  a 
small  valve  in  the  tube  connecting  with  the  caisson  is  then  opened 
gradually  and  the  pressure  in  the  air-lock  becomes  the  same  as 
that  in  the  chamber  below  ;  as  soon  as  this  is  effected  the  valve, 
or  door,  at  the  bottom  of  the  air-lock  falls  open  and  the  air-lock 
becomes  really  a  part  of  the  caisson. 

A  sufficient  force  of  men  is  employed  in  the  chamber  to  gradu- 
ally excavate  the  material  from  its  whole  surface  and  from  under 
the  cutting  edge,  and  the  masonry  structure  is  founded  upon  the 
top  of  the  caisson  and  built  gradually,  so  as  to  give  constantly  a 
sufficient  weight  to  carry  the  whole  construction  down  to  its  final 
location  upon  the  stable  foundation,  which  may  be  the  bed-rock  or 
may  be  some  strata  of  permanent  character. 

The  problem  of  lighting  the  chamber  was  until  recently  of  con- 
siderable difficulty.  The  rapid  combustion  under  great  pressure 
made  the  use  of  lamps  and  candles  very  troublesome,  particularly 
on  account  of  the  dense  smoke  and  large  production  of  lampblack. 

The  introduction  of  the  electric  light  has  greatly  aided  in  the 
more  comfortable  prosecution  of  pneumatic  foundation  work. 


THE   EADS   SAND-PUMP. 


71 


The  removal  of  rock,  or  any  large  mass,  from  the  caisson  is  ef- 
fected through  the  air-chamber  ;  but  the  removal  of  finer  material, 
as  sand  or  earth,  is  accomplished  by  the  sand  pump  or  by  the 
pressure  of  the  air.  A  tube,  extending  from  the  top  of  the  ma- 
sonry and  kept  above  the  surface  by  additions,  as  may  be  required, 
enters  the  working  chamber  and  is  controlled  by  proper  valves. 
Lines  of  tubing  and  hose  extend  to  all  portions  of  the  chamber. 
A  slight  excavation  is  made  and  kept  filled  with  water.  The  bot- 
tom of  the  tube,  or  the  hose  connected  with  it,  is  placed  in  this 
excavation,  and,  the  material  being  agitated  so  as  to  be  in  suspen- 
sion in  the  water,  the  valve  is  opened,  and  the  pressure  of  the  air 
throws  the  water  and  the  material  held  in  suspension  to  the  sur- 
face, through  the  tube,  from  the  end  of  which  it  is  projected  with 
great  velocity  and  may  be  deposited  at  any  desired  adjacent  point. 
This  method,  however,  exhausts  the  air  from  the  caisson  too  rap- 
idly for  continuous  service.  The  Eads  sand-pump  is  therefore 
generally  used.     This  is  an  ingenious  apparatus,   somewhat  the 


Transverse  Section  of  Pneumatic  Caisson, 


same  in  principle  as  the  injector  which  forces  water  into  steam- 
boilers.  A  stream  of  water  is  thrown  by  a  powerful  pump  through 
a  tube  which,  at  a  point  near  the  inlet  for  the  excavated  material, 


T2  FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 

is  enlarged  so  as  to  surround  another  tube.  The  water  is  forced 
upward  with  great  velocity  into  the  second  tube,  through  a  conical 
annular  opening,  and,  expelling  the  atmosphere,  carries  with  it  to 
the  surface  a  continuous  stream  of  sand  and  water  from  the  bottom 
of  the  excavation. 

This  system  has  been  used  successfully  in  the  foundations  of 
piers  and  abutments  of  bridges  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 
rapidity  of  the  descent  of  the  caisson  varies  with  the  material 
through  which  it  has  to  pass.  The  speed  with  which  such  founda- 
tions are  executed  is  remarkable,  when  one  remembers  with  what 
delicacy  and  intelligent  supervision  they  have  to  be  balanced  and 
controlled.  In  some  instances  it  has  been  necessary  to  carry  them 
to  great  depths,  one  at  St.  Louis  being  107  feet  below  ordinary 
water  level  in  the  river. 

The  pressure  of  air  in  caissons  at  these  depths  is  very  great ; 
at  no  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water  it  would  be  50  pounds 
to  the  square  inch.  Its  effect  upon  the  men  entering  and  working 
in  the  caisson  has  been  carefully  noted  in  various  works,  and  these 
effects  are  sometimes  very  serious ;  the  frequency  of  respiration  is 
increased,  the  action  of  the  heart  becomes  excited,  and  many  per- 
sons become  affected  by  what  is  known  as  the  "  caisson  disease," 
which  is  accompanied  by  extreme  pain  and  in  some  cases  results 
in  more  or  less  complete  paralysis.  The  careful  observations  of 
eminent  physicians  who  have  given  this  disease  special  attention 
have  resulted  in  the  formulation  of  rules  which  have  reduced  the 
danger  to  a  minimum. 

The  execution  of  work  within  a  deep  pneumatic  caisson  is  worth 
a  moment's  consideration.  Just  above  the  surface  of  the  water 
is  a  busy  force  engaged  in  laying  the  solid  blocks  of  masonry 
which  are  to  support  the  structure.  Great  derricks  lift  the  stones 
and  lay  them  in  their  proper  position.  Powerful  pumps  are  forcing 
air,  regularly  and  at  uniform  pressure,  through  tubes  to  the  cham- 
ber below.  Occasionally  a  stream  of  sand  and  water  issues  with 
such  velocity  from  the  discharge  pipe  that,  in  the  night,  the  friction 
of  the  particles  causes  it  to  look  like  a  stream  of  living  fire.  Far 
below  is  another  busy  force.  Under  the  great  pressure  and  ab- 
normal supply  of  oxygen  they  work  with  an  energy  which  makes 
it  impossible  to  remain  there  more  than  a  few  hours.     The  water 


CRIBS  FOR   BRIDGE   FOUNDATIONS. 


75 


from  without  is  only  kept  from  entering  by  the  steady  action  of  the 
pumps  far  above  and  beyond  their  control.  An  irregular  settle- 
ment might  overturn  the  structure.  Should  the  descent  of  the 
caisson  be  arrested  by  any  solid  under 
its  edge,  immediate  and  judicious  action 
must  be  taken.  If  the  obstruction  be  a 
log,  it  must  be  cut  off  outside  the  edge 
and  pulled  into  the  chamber.  Boulders 
must  be  undermined  and  often  must  be 
broken  up  by  blasting.  The  excavation 
must  be  systematic  and  regular.  A  con- 
stant danorer  menaces  the  lives  of  these 
workers,  and  the  wonderful  success  with 
which  they  have  accomplished  what  they 
have  undertaken  is  entitled  to  notice  and 
admiration. 

Another  process,  which  has  succeeded     '=^=z: 
in  carrying  a  foundation  to  greater  depths     J 
than  is  possible  with  compressed  air,  is    — 
by  building  a  crib  or  caisson,  with  cham- 
bers entirely  open  at  the  top,  but  having 
the  alternate  ones  closed  at  the  bottom 
and  furnished  with  cutting  edges.    These 
closed  chambers  are  weighted  with  stone 
or  gravel   until  the  structure   rests   upon 
the  bottom  of  the  river  ;  the  material  is 
then  excavated  from  the  bottom  throuofh 
the  open  chambers,  by  means  of  dredges, 
thus  permitting  the  structure  to  sink  by 

its  weight  to  the  desired  depth.  When  that  depth  is  reached,  the 
chambers  which  have  been  used  for  dredo-ino-  are  filled  with  con- 
Crete,  and  the  masonry  is  constructed  upon  the  top  of  this  struct- 
ure. The  use  of  this  system  has  enabled  the  engineer  to  place 
foundations  deeper  than  has  been  accomplished  by  any  other  de- 
vice, one  recently  built  in  Australia  being  175  feet  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  water.  The  illustrations  above  and  on  page  76  show 
this  method  of  construction. 

Even    more    remarkable   than    the  pneumatic    caisson   is    this 


Pier  of  Hawkesbury  Bridge,  Australia. 


^6 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


in   ]i[   1   ]ic   :i[   :t.   .r^rr 

J u 

;] 

y           H 

Jl E. 

Jl a. 

.D SL 

>                    « 

[1    ji[    ]i[    ]ir    ¥    iir    1    i]i 

method  of  sinking  these  great  foundations.  The  removal  of  ma- 
terial must  be  made  with  such  systematic  regularity  that  the  struct- 
ure shall  descend  even- 
ly and  always  maintain 
its  upright  position. 
The  dredo-e  is  handled 
and  operated  entirely 
from  the  surface.  The 
very  idea  is  startling, 
of  managing  an  exca- 
vation more  than  a 
hundred  feet  below  the 
operator,  entirely  by 
means  of  the  ropes 
which  connect  with  the  dredge,  and  doing  it  with  such  delicacy 
that  the  movement  of  an  enormous  structure,  weighing  many  tons, 
is  absolutely  controlled.  This  is  one  of  the  latest  and  most  inter- 
esting advances  of  engineering  skill. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  avoidance  of  large  expenditure,  when 
possible,  is  a  mark  of  the  best  engineering,  yet  great  structures 
often  become  absolutely  necessary  in  the  development  of  railway 
communication.  Wide  rivers  must  be  crossed,  deep  valleys  must 
be  spanned,  and  much  study  has  been  given  to  the  best  methods 
of  accomplishing  these 


JOOFeet 

Foundation  Crib  of  the   Poughkeepsie   Bridge. 


WC 


■mymivxvm^A 


■fm'MmiM 


mwMm. 


'/V/lKiimiKA 


results.  In  the  early 
history  of  railways  in 
Europe  substantial 
viaducts  of  brick  and 
stone  masonry,  were 
generally  built ;  and  in 
this  country  there  are 
notable  instances  of 
such  constructions. 
The  approach  to  the 
depot  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  is  an  excellent  example. 
Each  street  crossed  by  the  viaduct  is   spanned  by  a  bold  arch   of 


OOF'eet. 

Transverse  Section  of  the  same. 


MASONRY  ARCHES  AND   CULVERTS. 


77 


Granite   Accned  Appioacn  to  Harlem   River 
Bridge  in  Process  of  Construction. 


brick.  Upon  a 
number  of  our  railways  there 
are  heavy  masonry  arches  and  culverts, 
and  at  some  places  these  are  of  a  very 
interesting  character.  The  arches  in 
the  approach  to  the  bridge  over  the 
Harlem  Valley  (recently  completed)  are  shown  above.  They 
are  of  granite,  having  a  span  of  60  feet.  The  illustration  shows 
also  the  method  of  supporting  the  stone  work  of  such  arches  dur- 
ino-  construction.  Braced  timbers  form  what  is  called  the  centre, 
and  support  the  curved  frame  of  plank  upon  which  the  masonry 
is  built,  which,  of  course,  cannot  be  self-supporting  until  the  key- 
stone is  in  place  ;  then  the  centre  is  lowered  by  a  loosening  of  the 
wedges  which  support  it,  and  the  stone  work  of  the  arch  is  per- 
mitted to  assume  its  final  bearing.  It  is  generally  considered  that 
where  it  is  practicable  to  construct  masonry  arches  under  railways 
there  is  a  fair  assurance  of  their  permanency,  but  some  engineers 
of  great  experience  in  railway  construction  advance  the  theory  that 
the  constant  jar  and  tremor  produced  by  passing  railway  trains  is 
really  more  destructive  to  masonry  work  than  has  been  supposed, 
and  that  it  may  be  true  that  the  elements  of  the  best  economy  will 
be  found  in  metal  structures  rather  than  in  masonry.  It  is  a  fact 
that  repairs  and  renewals  of  metal  bridges  are  much  more  easily 
accomplished  than  of  masonry  constructions. 


78 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


The  Old  Portage  Viaduct,  Erie  Railway,  N.  Y. 


In  this  country 
the  wooden  bridge 
has  been  an  impor- 
tant, in  fact  an  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  successful  build- 
ing of  our  railways. 

Timber  is  also  used  exten- 
sively in  railroad  construction 
in  the  form  of  trestles  ;  one 
example  of  which  has  been 
alluded  to  on  page  50.  There  were  also  constructed,  years  ago, 
some  very  bold  viaducts  in  wood.  One  of  the  most  interesting  is 
shown  above,  being  the  viaduct  at  Portage,  N.  Y.  This  con- 
struction was  over  800  feet  long,  and  234  feet  high  from  the  bed  of 
the  river  to  the  rail.  The  masonry  foundations  were  30  feet  high, 
the  trestles  190  feet,  and  the  truss  14  feet ;  it  contained  more  than  a 
million  and  a  half  feet,  board  measure,  of  timber.  The  timber  piers, 
which  were  50  feet  apart,  are  formed  by  three  trestles,  grouped  to- 
gether. It  was  framed  so  that  defective  pieces  could  be  taken  out 
and  replaced  at  any  time.  This  bridge  was  finished  in  1852  and 
was  completely  destroyed  by  fire  in  1875.  The  new  metal  struct- 
ure which  took  its  place  is  shown  on  the  opposite  page,  and  is  an 


THE  AMERICAN  METAL    VIADUCT 


79 


interesting  example  of  the  American  method  of  metal  viaduct  con- 
struction, an  essential  feature  of  that  construction  being  the  concen- 
tration of  the  material  into  the  least  possible  number  of  parts.  This 
bridge  has  ten  spans  of  50  feet,  two  of  100  feet,  and  one  of  1 18  feet. 
The  trusses  are  of  what  is  called  the  Pratt  pattern,  and  are  supported 


The  New  Portage  Viaduct. 

by  wrought-iron  columns,  two  pairs  of  columns  forming  a  skeleton 
tower  20  feet  wide  and  50  feet  long  on  the  top.  There  are  six  of 
these  towers,  one  of  which  has  a  total  height  from  the  masonry  to 
the  rail  of  203  feet  8  inches.  There  are  over  1,300,000  pounds  of 
iron  in  this  structure. 

The  fundamental  idea  of  a  bridge  is  a  simple  beam  of  wood. 
If  metal  is  substituted  it  is  still  a  beam  with  all  superfluous  parts 
cut  away.  This  results  in  what  is  called  an  I  beam.  When 
greater  loads  have  to  be  carried,  the  I  beam  is  enlarged  and 
built  up  of  metal  plates  riveted  together  and  thus  becomes  a  plate 
girder.  These  are  used  for  all  short  railway  spans.  For  greater 
spans  the  truss  must  be  employed. 

Before  referring,  however,  to  examples  of  truss  bridges,  a  de- 
scription should  be  given  of  the  Britannia  Bridge,  built  by  Robert 


8o 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


enai   Straits,  Noah  Wales. 


Stephenson  in  1850,  over  the  Menai  Straits.  This  g-reat  con- 
struction carries  two  Hnes  of  rails  and  is  buih  of  two  square  tubes, 
side  by  side,  each  being  continuous,  1,511  feet  long,  supported  at 
each  extremity  and  at  three  intermediate  points,  and  having  two 
spans  of  460  feet  each  and  two  spans  of  230  feet  each.  The  tow- 
ers which  support  this  structure  are  of  very  massive  masonry,  and 
rise  considerably  above  the  top  of  the  tubes.  These  tubes  are 
each  27  feet  high  and  14  feet  8  inches  wide  ;  they  are  built  up  of 
plate  iron,  the  top  and  bottom  being  cellular  in  construction,  and 
the  sides  of  a  single  thickness  of  iron.  The  tubes  for  the  long 
spans  were  built  on  shore  and  floated  to  the  side  of  the  bridge  and 
then  lifted  by  hydraulic  presses  to  their  final  position.  The  rapid 
current,  and  other  considerations,  made  the  erection  of  false  works 
for  these  spans  impracticable.  The  beautiful  suspension  bridge, 
built  by  Telford  in  1820,  over  the  Menai  Straits,  is  only  a  mile 
away  from  this  Britannia  Bridge,  but,  at  the  time  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  latter,  it  was  not  deemed  possible  by  English  engineers 
to  erect  a  suspension  bridge  of  sufficient  strength  and  stability  to 
accommodate  railway  traffic. 

The  Victoria  Bridsfe  at  Montreal  is  of  the  same  o-eneral  char- 


REPAIRING    THE  NIAGARA    SUSPENSION  BRIDGE.         8 1 

actcr  of  construction  as  the  Britannia  Bridge,  but  is  built  only  for 
a  single  line  of  rails  ;  this  bridge  also  was  built  by  Mr.  Stephen- 
son, in  1859.  These  two  structures  were  enormous  works  ;  their 
strength  is  undoubted,  but  they  lack  that  element  of  permanent 
economy  which  has  been  spoken  of  in  this  article  ;  their  cost  was 
very  great,  and  the  expense  of  maintenance  is  also  very  great.  A 
very  large  amount  of  rust  is  taken  from  these  tubes  every  year ; 
they  require  very  frequent  painting,  and  there  are  on  the  Victoria 
Bridge  30  acres  of  iron  surface  to  be  thus  painted. 

A  remarkable  and  interesting  contrast  to  these  heavy  tubes  of 
iron  is  the  Niagara  Falls  railway  suspension  bridge,  completed  in 
March,  1855.  The  span  of  this  bridge  is  821  feet,  and  the  track 
is  245  feet  above  the  water  surface.  It  is  supported  by  4  cables 
which  rested  on  the  tops  of  two  masonry  towers  at  each  end  of  the 
central  span,  the  ends  of  the  cables  being  carried  to  and  anchored 
in  the  solid  rock.  The  suspended  superstructure  has  two  floors, 
one  above  the  other,  connected  together  at  each  side  by  posts  and 
truss  rods,  inclined  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  an  open  trussed 
tube,  not  intended  to  support  the  load,  but  to  prevent  excessive 
undulations.  The  floors  are  suspended  from  the  cables  by  wire 
ropes,  the  upper  floor  carrying  the  railroad  track,  and  the  lower 
forming  a  foot  and  carriage  way.  Each  cable  has  3,640  iron  wires. 
This  bridge  carried  successfully  a  heavy  traffic  for  26  years  ;  it  was 
then  found  that  some  repairs  to  the  cable  were  required  at  the  an- 
chorage, the  portions  of  the  cables  exposed  to  the  air  being  in  ex- 
cellent condition.  These  repairs  were  made,  and  the  anchorage 
was  substantially  reinforced.  At  the  same  time  it  was  found  that 
the  wooden  suspended  superstructure  was  in  bad  condition,  and 
this  was  entirely  removed  and  replaced  by  a  structure  of  iron,  built 
and  adjusted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the  best  possible  re- 
sults. For  some  time  it  had  been  noticed  that  the  stone  towers 
which  supported  the  great  cables  of  the  bridge  showed  evidences 
of  disintegration  at  the  surface,  and  a  careful  engineering  examina- 
tion in  1885  showed  that  these  towers  were  in  a  really  dangerous 
condition.  The  reason  for  this  was  that  the  saddles  over  which 
the  cables  pass  on  the  top  of  the  towers  had  not  the  freedom  of 
motion  which  was  required  for  the  action  of  the  cables,  caused  by 
differences  of  temperature  and  by  passing  loads.     These  saddles 


82 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Old  Stone  Towers  of  the   Niagaia  Suspension   Bridge. 


had  been  placed  upon  rollers  but,  at  some  period,  cement  had  been 
allowed  to  be  put  between  these  rollers,  thus  preventing  their  free 

motion.  The  result  was  a  bend- 
ing strain  upon  the  towers  which 
was  too  great  for  the  strength 
and  cohesion  of  the  stone. 
A  most  interesting  and  suc- 
cessful feat  was  accomplish- 
ed in  the  substitution  of  iron 
towers  for  these  stone  tow- 
ers, without  interrupting 
the  traffic  across  the  bridge. 
This  was  accomplished  with- 
in a  year  or  two  by  building 
a  skeleton  iron  tower  out- 
side of  the  stone  tower,  and 
transferring  the  cables  from  the  stone  to  the  iron  tower  by  a  most 
ingenious  arrangement  of  hydraulic  jacks.  The  stone  towers  were 
then  removed.  Thus,  by  the  renewal  of  its  suspended  structure 
and  the  replacing  of  its  towers,  the  bridge  has  been  given  a  new 
lease  of  life  and  is  in  excellent  condition  to-day. 

This  Niagara  railway 
suspension  bridge  has 
been  so  lone  in  successful 
operation  that  it  is  difficult 
now  to  appreciate  the  gen- 
eral disbelief  in  the  possi- 
bility of  its  success  as  a 
railway  bridge,  when  it 
was  undertaken.  It  was 
projected  and  executed  by 
the  late  John  A.  Roebling. 
Before  it  was  finished,  Rob- 
ertStephenson  said  to  him, 
"  If  your  bridge  succeeds, 

mine  is  a  magnificent  blunder."     The  Niagara  bridge  did  succeed. 

We  are  so  familiar  with  the  great  suspension  bridge  between 

New  York  and  Brooklyn,  that  only  a  simple  statement  of  some  of 


The  New  Iron  Towers  of  the   Same. 


Below  the   Brooklyn   Bridge. 
From  a  painting  by  J.  H.  Twachtman. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    STEEL    TRUSS  BRLDGE.  85 

its  characteristic  features  will  be  given.  Its  clear  span  is  i,595i 
feet.  With  its  approaches  its  length  is  3,455  feet.  The  clear 
waterway  is  135  feet  high.  The  towers  rise  272  feet  above  high 
water  and  extend  on  the  New  York  side  down  to  rock  78  feet  be- 
low. The  four  suspension  cables  are  of  steel  wire  and  support  six 
parallel  steel  trusses,  thus  providing  two  carriage  ways,  two  lines 
of  railway,  and  one  elevated  footway.  The  cables  are  carried  to 
bearing  anchorages  in  New  York  and  in  Brooklyn.  The  cars  on 
the  bridge  are  propelled  by  cables,  and  the  amount  of  travel  is 
now  so  orreat  as  to  demand  some  radical  chano-es  in  the  methods 
for  its  accommodation,  which  a  few  years  ago  were  supposed  to 
be  ample. 

Except  under  special  circumstances  of  location  or  length  of 
span,  the  truss  bridge  is  a  more  economical  and  suitable  structure 
for  railway  traffic  than  a  suspension  bridge. 

The  advance  from  the  wood  truss  to  the  modern  steel  structure 
has  been  through  a  number  of  stages.  Excellent  bridges  were 
built  in  combinations  of  wood  and  iron,  and  are  still  advocated 
where  wood  is  inexpensive.  Then  came  the  use  of  cast  iron  for 
those  portions  of  the  truss  subject  only  to  compressive  strains, 
wrought  iron  being  used  for  all  members  liable  to  tension.  Many 
bridges  of  notable  spans  were  built  in  this  way  and  are  still  in  use. 
The  form  of  this  combination  truss  varied  with  the  designs  of  dif- 
ferent engineers,  and  the  spans  extended  to  over  three  hundred 
feet.  The  forms  bore  the  names  of  the  designers,  and  the  Fink, 
the  Bollman,  the  Pratt,  the  Whipple,  the  Post,  the  Warren,  and 
others  had  each  their  advocates.  The  substitution  of  wrought  for 
cast  iron  followed,  and  until  quite  recently  trusses  built  entirely  of 
wrought  iron  have  been  used  for  all  structures  of  great  span.  The 
latest  step  has  been  made  in  the  use  of  steel,  at  first  for  special 
members  of  a  truss  and  latterly  for  the  whole  structure.  The  art 
of  railway  bridge  building  has  thus,  in  a  comparatively  few  years, 
passed  through  its  age  of  wood,  and  then  of  iron,  and  now  rests  in 
the  application  of  steel  in  all  its  parts. 

Two  distinct  ways  of  connecting  the  different  parts  of  a  struct- 
ure are  in  common  use,  riveting  and  pin  connections. 

In  riveted  connections  the  various  parts  of  the  bridge  are  fast- 
ened at  all  junctions  by  overlapping  the  plates  of  iron  or  steel  and 


S6  FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 

inserting  rivets  into  holes  punclied  through  all  the  plates  to  be 
connected.  The  rivets  are  so  spaced  as  to  insure  the  best  result 
as  to  strength.  The  pieces  of  metal  are  brought  together,  either 
in  the  shop  or  at  the  structure  during  erection,  and  the  rivets, 
which  are  round  pieces  of  metal  with  a  head  formed  on  one  end, 
are  heated  and  inserted  from  one  side,  being  made  long  enough  to 
project  sufficiently  to  give  the  proper  amount  of  metal  for  forming 
the  other  head.  This  is  done  while  the  rivet  is  still  hot,  either  by 
hammering  or  by  the  application  of  a  riveting  machine,  operated 
by  steam  or  hydraulic  pressure.  Ingenious  portable  machines  are 
now  manufactured  which  are  hung  from  the  structure  during  erec- 
tion and  connected  by  flexible  hose  with  the  steam  power,  by  the 
use  of  which  the  rivet  heads  can  be  formed  in  place  with  great 
celerity.  The  connections  of  plates  by  rivets  of  proper  dimensions 
and  properly  spaced  give  great  strength  and  stiffiiess  to  such 
joints. 

In  pin  connections  the  members  of  a  structure  are  assembled 
at  points  of  junction  and  a  large  iron  or  steel  pin  inserted  in  a  pin- 
hole running  through  all  the  members.  This  pin  is  made  of  such 
diameter  as  to  withstand  and  properly  transmit  all  the  strains 
brought  upon  it.  Joints  made  with  such  pin  connections  have  flex- 
ibility, and  the  strains  and  stresses  can  be  calculated  with  great 
precision.  Eye-bars  are  forged  pieces  of  iron  or  steel,  generally 
flat,  and  enlarged  at  the  ends  so  as  to  give  a  proper  amount  of 
metal  around  the  pin-hole  or  eye,  formed  in  those  ends. 

Structures  connected  by  pins  at  their  principal  junctions  have, 
of  course,  many  parts  in  which  riveting  must  be  used. 

The  elements  which  are  distinctively  American  in  our  railway 
bridges  are  the  concentration  of  material  in  few  members  and  the 
use  of  eye-bars  and  pin  connections  in  place  of  riveted  connec- 
tions. The  riveted  methods  are,  however,  largely  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  American  forms  of  truss  construction. 

An  excellent  example  of  an  American  railway  truss  bridge  is 
shown  on  the  opposite  page.  This  structure  spans  the  Missouri 
River  at  its  crossing  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  It  has  three 
through  spans  of  400  feet  each  and  two  deck  spans  of  1 13  feet  each. 
The  bottom  chords  of  the  long  spans  are  50  feet  above  high  water, 
which  at  this  place  is  1,636  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.     The 


A    TYPICAL    TRUSS  BRIDGE. 


87 


foundations  of  the  mason- 
ry piers  were  pneumatic 
caissons.  The  trusses  of 
the  through  spans,  400 
feet  long-,  are  50  feet  deep 
and  22  feet  between  cen- 
tres. They  are  divided 
into  16  panels  of  25  feet 
each.  The  truss  is  of  the 
double  system  Whipple 
type,  with  inclined  end 
posts.  The  bridge  is  pro- 
portioned to  carry  a  train 
weighing  2,000  pounds 
per  lineal  foot,  preceded 
by  two  locomotives  weigh- 
ing 150,000  pounds  in  a 
length  of  50  feet.  The 
pins  connecting  the  mem- 
bers of  the  main  truss  are 
5  inches  in  diameter. 

This  bridge  is  a  char- 
acteristic illustration  of  the 
latest  type  of  American 
methods.  The  extreme 
simplicity  of  its  lines  of 
construction,  the  direct 
transfer  of  the  strains  aris- 
ing from  loads,  through 
the  members,  to  and  from 
the  points  where  those 
strains  are  concentrated  in 
the  pin  connections  at  the 
ends  of  each  member,  are 
apparent  even  to  the  un- 
technical  eye.  The  ap- 
parent lightness  of  con- 
struction arising  from  the 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


Curved  Viaduct,  Georgetown,  Col.  ;   the  Union  Pacific  crossing  its  own  Line. 

concentration  of  the  material  in  so  small  a  number  of  members, 
and  the  necessarily  great  height  of  the  truss,  give  a  grace  and 
elegance  to  the  structure,  and  suggest  bold  and  fine  development 
of  the  theories  of  mechanics. 

An  interesting  viaduct  is  shown  in  the  above  illustration,  where 
the  railway  crosses  its  own  line  on  a  curved  truss. 

The  truss  bridges  which  have  been  mentioned  as  types  of  the 
modern  railway  bridge  are  erected  by  the  use  of  false  works  of 
timber,  placed  generally  upon  piling  or  other  suitable  foundation, 
between  the  piers  or  abutments,  and  made  of  sufficient  strength  to 
carry  each  span  of  the  permanent  structure  until  it  is  completed 
and  all  its  parts  connected,  or,  as  is  technically  said,  until  the  span 
is  swung.  Then  the  false  works  are  removed  and  the  span  is  left 
without  intermediate  support.  But  there  are  places  where  it 
would  be  impossible  or  exceedingly  expensive  to  erect  any  false 
works.  A  structure  over  a  valley  of  great  depth,  or  over  a  river 
with  very  rapid  current,  are  instances  of  such  a  situation. 

A  suspension  bridge  would  solve  the  problem,  but  in  many 
cases  not  satisfactorily.     The  method  adopted  by  Colonel  C.  Sha- 


THE   KENTUCKY  RIVER    CANTILEVER.  89 

ler  Smith  at  the  Kentucky  River  Bridg-e  [p.  55]  shows  ingenuity 
and  boldness  worthy  of  special  remark.  The  Cincinnati  Southern 
Railroad  had  here  to  cross  a  canon  1,200  feet  wide  and  275  feet 
deep.  The  river  is  subject  to  freshets  every  two  months,  with  a 
range  of  55  feet  and  a  known  rise  of  40  feet  in  a  single  night. 
Twenty  years  before,  the  towers  for  a  suspension  bridge  had  been 
erected  at  this  point.  The  design  adopted  for  the  railroad  bridge 
was  based  upon  the  cantilever  principle.  The  structure  has  three 
spans  of  375  feet  each,  carrying  a  railway  track  at  a  height  of  276 
feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river.  At  the  time  of  its  construction 
this  was  the  highest  railway  bridge  in  the  world,  and  it  is  still  the 
highest  structure  of  the  kind  with  spans  of  over  60  feet  in  length. 
The  bridge  is  supported  by  the  bluffs  at  its  ends  and  by  two  inter- 
mediate iron  piers  resting  upon  bases  of  stone  masonry.  Each 
iron  pier  is  177  feet  high,  and  consists  of  four  legs,  having  a  base 
of  71^  X  28  feet,  and  terminating  at  its  top  in  a  turned  pin  12 
inches  in  diameter  under  each  of  the  two  trusses.  Each  iron  pier 
is  a  structure  complete  in  itself,  with  provision  for  expansion  and 
contraction  in  each  direction  through  double  roller  beds  interposed 
between  it  and  the  masonry,  and  is  braced  to  withstand  a  gale  of 
wind  that  would  blow  a  loaded  freight-train  bodily  from  the  bridge. 

The  trusses  were  commenced  by  anchoring  them  back  to  the 
old  towers,  and  were  then  built  out  as  cantilevers  from  each  bluff 
to  a  distance  of  one-half  the  length  of  the  side  spans,  and  at  this 
point  rested  upon  temporary  wooden  supports.  Thence  they  were 
again  extended  as  cantilevers  until  the  side  spans  were  com- 
pleted and  rested  upon  the  iron  piers.  This  cantilever  principle  is 
simply  the  balancing  of  a  portion  of  the  structure  on  one  side  of  a 
support  by  the  portion  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  support. 
Similarly  the  halves  of  the  middle  span  were  built  out  from  the 
piers,  meeting  with  exactness  in  mid-air.  The  temporary  support 
used  first  at  the  centre  of  one  side  span  and  then  at  the  other,  was 
the  only  scaffolding  used  in  erecting  the  structure,  none  whatever 
being  used  for  the  middle  span. 

When  the  junction  was  made  at  the  centre  of  the  middle  span, 
the  trusses  were  continuous  from  bluff  to  bluff,  and,  had  they  beer^ 
left   in  this   condition,  would   have   been   subjected   to   constantly 
varying  strains  resulting   from  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  iron  piers 


90 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


The  Niagara  Cantilever  Bridge  in  Progress, 


due  to  thermal 
changes.  This 
Habihty  was  ob- 
viated by  cut- 
ting" the  bottom  chords 
of  the  side  spans  and 
converting  them  into  shding  joints 
at  points  75  feet  distant  from  the 
iron  piers.  This  done,  the  bridge 
consists  of  a  continuous  girder  525  feet  long,  covering  the  middle 
span  of  375  feet,  and  projecting  as  cantilevers  for  75  feet  beyond 
each  pier,  each  cantilever  supporting  one  end  of  a  300-foot  span, 
which  completes  the  distance  to  the  bluff  on  each  side. 

A  most  interesting  example  of  cantilever  construction  is  the  rail- 
way bridge  built  several  years  ago  at  Niagara,  only  a  few  rods  from 
the  suspension  bridge  and  a  short  distance  below  the  great  falls.  It 
is  shown  in  the  illustrations  above  and  on  page  91.  The  floor  of 
the  bridge  is  239  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  which  at  that 
point  has  a  velocity  in  the  centre  of  16^  miles  per  hour  and  forms 
constant  whirlpools  and  eddies  near  the  shores.  The  total  length 
of  the  structure  is  910  feet,  and  the  clear  span  over  the  river  be- 
tween the  towers  is  470  feet.  The  shore  arms  of  the  cantilever, 
that  is  to  say,  those  portions  of  the  structure  which  extend  from 
the  top  of  the  bank  to  the  top  of  the  tower  built  from  the  foot  of 
the  bank,  are  firmly  anchored  at  their  shore  ends  to  a  pier  built 


THE  NIAGARA    CANTILEVER. 


91 


upon  the  solid  rock.  These  shore-arms  were  constructed  on 
wooden  false  works,  and  serve  as  balancing  weights  to  the  other 
or  river  arms  of  the  lever,  which  project  out  over  the  stream. 
These  river-arms  were  built  by  the  addition  of  metal,  piece  by 
piece,  the  weight  being  always  more  than  balanced  by  the  shore- 
arms.  The  separate  members  of  the  river-arms  were  run  out  on 
the  top  of  the  completed  part  and  then  lowered  from  the  end  by 
an  overhanging  travelling  derrick,  and  fastened  in  place  by  men 
working  upon  a  platform  suspended  below.  This  work  was  con- 
tinued, piece  by  piece,  until  the  river-arm  of  each  cantilever  was 
complete,  and  the  structure  was  then  finished  by  connecting  these 
river-arms  by  a  short  truss  suspended  from  them  directly  over  the 
centre  of  the  stream.  This  whole  structure  was  built  in  eight 
months,  and  is  an  example  both  of  a  bold  engineering  work  and  of 
the  facility  with  which  a  pin-connected  structure  can  be  erected. 
The  materials  are  steel  and  iron.  The  prosecution  of  this  work 
by  men  suspended  on   a  platform,  hung  by  ropes  from  a  skeleton 


The  Niagara  Cantilever  Bridge  Completed. 


Structure  projecting,  without  apparent  support,  over  the  rushing 
Niagara  torrent,  was  always  an  interesting  and  really  thrilling 
spectacle. 


92 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


The  Lachine  Bridge  recently  built  over  the  St.  Lawrence  near 
Montreal,  illustrated  below,  has  certain  peculiar  features.  It  has  a 
total  length  of  3,514  feet.  The  two  channel  spans  are  each  408  feet 
in  length   and  are  through  spans.     The   others    are  deck  spans. 

Through  spans  are 
those  where  the  train 
passes  between  the 
side  trusses.  Deck 
spans  are  those 
where  the  train 
passes  over  the  top 
of  the  structure. 
These    two   channel 


Tne  Lachine  Bridge,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  near  Montreal,  Canada. 

spans  and  the  two  spans  next  them  form  cantilevers,  and  the  chan- 
nel spans  were  built  out  from  the  central  pier  and  from  the  adjacent 
flanking  spans  without  the  use  of  false  works  in  either  channel. 
A  novel  method  of  passing  from  the  deck  to  the  through  spans  has 
been  used,  by  curving  the  top  and  bottom  chords  of  the  channel 
spans  to  connect  with  the  chords  of  the  flanking  spans.  The  ma- 
terial is  steel. 

This  structure,  light,  airy,  and  graceful,  forms  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  dark,  heavy  tube  of  the  Victoria  Bridge  just  below. 

The  enormous  cantilever  Forth  Bridge,  with  its  two  spans  of 
1,710  feet  each,  is  in  steady  progress  of  construction  and  will  when 


FEATURES    OF   THE    ST.  LOUIS   BRIDGE.  93 

completed  mark  a  long  step  in  advance  in  the  science  of  bridge 
construction. 

Of  entirely  different  design  and  principle  from  all  these  trusses 
are  the  beautiful  steel  arches  of  the  St.  Louis  Bridge  [p.  95],  the 
great  work  of  that  remarkable  genius,  James  B.  Eads.  This 
structure  spans  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Louis.  Difficult  problems 
were  presented  in  the  study  of  the  design  for  a  permanent  bridge 
at  that  point.  The  river  is  subject  to  great  changes.  The  varia- 
tion between  extreme  low  and  high  water  has  been  over  41  feet. 
The  current  runs  from  2|  to  8i  miles  per  hour.  It  holds  always 
much  matter  in  suspension,  but  the  amount  so  held  varies  greatly 
with  the  velocity.  The  very  bed  of  the  river  is  really  in  constant 
motion.  Examination  by  Captain  Eads  in  a  diving-bell  showed 
that  there  was  a  moving  current  of  sand  at  the  bottom,  of  at  least 
three  feet  in  depth.  At  low  water,  the  velocity  of  the  stream  is 
small  and  the  bottom  rises.  When  the  velocity  increases,  a 
"  scour "  results  and  the  river-bed  is  deepened,  sometimes  with 
amazing  rapidity.  In  winter  the  river  is  closed  by  huge  cakes  of 
ice  from  the  north,  which  freeze  together  and  form  great  fields  of 
ice. 

It  was  decided  to  be  necessary  that  the  foundations  should  go 
to  rock,  and  they  were  so  built.  The  general  plan  of  the  super- 
structure, with  all  its  details,  was  elaborated  gradually  and  care- 
fully, and  the  result  is  a  rea.1  feat  of  engineering.  There  are  three 
steel  arches,  the  centre  one  having  a  span  of  520  feet  and  each 
side  arch  a  span  of  502  feet.  Each  span  has  four  parallel  arches 
or  ribs,  and  each  arch  is  composed  of  two  cylindrical  steel  tubes, 
18  inches  in  exterior  diameter,  one  acting  as  the  upper  and  the 
other  as  the  lower  chord  of  the  arch.  The  tubes  are  in  sections, 
each  about  twelve  feet  long,  and  connected  by  screw  joints.  The 
thickness  of  the  steel  forming  the  tubes  runs  from  \^-^  to  2^  inches. 
These  upper  and  lower  tubes  are  parallel  and  are  12  feet  apart, 
connected  by  a  single  system  of  diagonal  bracing.  The  double 
tracks  of  the  railroad  run  through  the  bridge  adjacent  to  the  side 
arches  at  the  elevation  of  the  highest  point  of  the  lower  tube.  The 
carriage  road  and  footpaths  extend  the  full  width  of  the  bridge  and 
are  carried,  by  braced  vertical  posts,  at  an  elevation  of  twenty- 
three  feet  above  the  railroad.     The  clear  headway  is  55  feet  above 


94  FEATS    OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING.  * 

ordinary  high  water.  The  approaches  on  each  side  are  masonry 
viaducts,  and  the  railway  connects  with  the  City  Station  by  a  tun- 
nel nearly  a  mile  in  length.  The  illustration  shows  vividly  the 
method  of  erection  of  these  great  tubular  ribs.  They  were  built 
out  from  each  side  of  a  pier,  the  weight  oi>  one  side  acting  as  a 
counterpoise  for  the  construction  on  the  other  side  of  the  pier. 
They  were  thus  gradually  and  systematically  projected  over  the 
river,  without  support  from  below,  till  they  met  at  the  middle  of 
the  span,  when  the  last  central  connecting  tube  was  put  in  place 
by  an  ingenious  mechanical  arrangement,  and  the  arch  became 
self-supporting. 

The  double  arch  steel  viaduct  recently  built  over  the  Harlem 
Valley  in  the  city  of  New  York  [p.  97]  has  a  marked  difference 
from  the  St.  Louis  arches  in  the  method  of  construction  of  the 
ribs.  These  are  made  up  of  immense  voussoirs  of  plate  steel, 
forming  sections  somewhat  analogous  to  the  ring  stones  of  a  ma- 
sonry arch.  These  sections  are  built  up  in  the  form  of  great  I 
beams,  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  I  being  made  by  a  number  of 
parallel  steel  plates  connected  by  angle  pieces  with  the  upright 
web,  which  is  a  single  piece  of  steel.  The  vertical  height  of  the 
I  is  13  feet.  The  span  of  each  of  these  arches  is  510  feet. 
There  are  six  such  parallel  ribs  in  each  span,  connected  with  each 
other  by  bracing.  These  great  ribs  rest  upon  steel  pins  of  18 
inches  diameter,  placed  at  the  springing  of  the  arch.  The  arches 
rise  from  massive  masonry  piers,  which  extend  up  to  the  level  of 
the  floor  of  the  bridge.  This  floor  is  supported  by  vertical  posts 
from  the  arches  and  is  a  little  above  the  highest  point  of  the  rib. 
It  is  152  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river — -having  an  elevation 
fifty  feet  greater  than  the  well-known  High  Bridge,  which  spans 
the  same  valley  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  approaches  to 
these  steel  arches  on  each  side  are  granite  viaducts  carried  over 
a  series  of  stone  arches.  The  whole  structure  forms  a  notable 
example  of  engineering  construction.  It  was  finished  within  two 
years  from  the  beginning  of  work  upon  its  foundations,  the  energy 
of  its  builders  being  worthy  of  special  commendation. 

In  providing  for  the  rapid  transit  of  passengers  in  great  cities 
the  two  types  of  construction  successfully  adopted  are  represented 


m 


ELEVATED   AND    UNDERGROUND  ROADS. 


97 


by    the    New    York    Ele- 
vated   and     the    London 
Underground   railways. 
The  New  York  Elevated 
•  is  a  continuous  metal  via- 
duct,   supported    on    col- 
umns varying  in  height  so 
as  to  secure  easy  grades. 
The  details  of  construction 
differ    greatly    at    various 
parts  of  the  elevated  lines, 
those  more  recently  built 
being  able  to  carry  much 
heavier    trains    than    the 
earlier  portions.     The 
roads  have  been  very  suc- 
cessful   in    providing   the 
facilities  for  transit  so  ab- 
solutely necessary  in  New 
York.     The    citizens    of 
that  city  are  alive  to  the 
present  necessity  of  add- 
ing   very    soon    to    those 
facilities,    and    it    is    now 
only    a    question    of    the 
best  method  to  be  adopt- 
ed  to   secure  the   lareest 
results    in    a    permanent 
manner. 

The  London  Under- 
ground road  has  also  been 
very  successful.  Its  con- 
struction was  a  formidable 
undertaking.  Its  tunnels 
are  not  only  under  streets 
but  under  heavy  buildings. 
Its  daily  traffic  is  enor- 
mous.    The  difficult  ques- 


98 


FEATS   OF  RAILWAY  ENGINEERING. 


London  Underground  Railway  Station. 


tion  in  its  management  is,  as  in  all  long  tunnels,  that  of  ventila- 
tion, but  modern  science  will  surely  solve  that,  as  it  does  so  many 
other  problems  connected  with  the  active  life  of  man. 

Many  broad  questions  of  general  policy,  and  innumerable  mat- 
ters of  detail  are  involved  in  the  development  of  railway  engineer- 
ing. In  the  determination,  for  instance,  of  the  location,  the  rela- 
tions of  cost  and  construction  to  future  business,  the  possibilities 
of  extensions  and  connections,  the  best  points  for  settlements  and 
industrial  enterprises,  the  merits  and  defects  of  alternative  routes 
must  be  weighed  and  decided. 

Where  structures  are  to  be  built,  the  amount  and  delicacy  of 
detail  requisite  in  their  design  and  execution  can  hardly  be  de- 
scribed. Final  pressures  upon  foundations  must  be  ascertained 
and  provided  for.  Accurate  calculations  of  strains  and  stresses, 
involving  the  application  of  difficult  processes  and  mechanical  theo- 


THE  ENGINEER'S  RESPONSIBILITIES.  99 

ries,  must  be  made.  The  adjustment  of  every  part  must  be  se- 
cured with  reference  to  its  future  duty.  Strength  and  safety  must 
be  assured  and  economy  not  forgotten.  Every  contingency  must, 
if  possible,  be  anticipated,  while  the  emergencies  which  arise  dur- 
ing every  great  construction  demand  constant  watchfulness  and 
prompt  and  accurate  decision. 

The  financial  success  of  the  largest  enterprises  rests  upon  such 
practical  application  of  theory  and  experience.  Even  more  weighty 
still  is  the  fact  that  the  safety  of  thousands  of  human  lives  depends 
daily  upon  the  permanency  and  stability  of  railway  structures. 
Such  are  some  of  the  deep  responsibilities  which  are  involved  in 
the  active  work  ofthe  Civil  Engineer. 


AMERICAN   LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


By  M.  N.  FORNEY. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  in  1830 — Evolution  of  the  Car  from  the  Conestoga 
Wagon — Horatio  Allen's  Trial  Trip — The  First  Locomotive  used  in  the  United 
States — Peter  Cooper's  Race  \vith  a  Gray  Horse — The  "  De  Witt  Clinton," 
"  Planet,"  and  other  Early  Types  of  Locomotives — Equalizing  Levers — How  Steam 
is  Made  and  Controlled — The  Boiler,  Cylinder,  Injector,  and  Valve  Gear — Regula- 
tion of  the  Capacity  of  a  Locomotive  to  Draw — Increase  in  the  Number  of  Driving 
W^heels — Modern  Types  of  Locomotives — Variation  in  the  Rate  of  Speed — The 
Appliances  by  which  an  Engine  is  Governed — Round-houses  and  Shops — Develop- 
ment of  American  Cars — An  Illustration  from  Peter  Parley — The  Survival  of  Stage 
Coach  Bodies — Adoption  of  the  Rectangular  Shape — The  Origin  of  Eight-wheeled 
Cars — Improvement  in  Car  Coupling — A  Uniform  Type  Recommended — The 
Making  of  Wheels — Relative  Merits  of  Cast  and  Wrought  Iron,  and  Steel — The 
Allen  Paper  Wheel — Types  of  Cars,  with  Size,  Weight,  and  Price — The  Car- 
Builder's  Dictionary — Statistical. 

MONG   the    readers    of   this    vokime    there 
will  be   some  who   have    reached  the   sum- 
mit   of  the    "  divide "    which   separates   the 
spring  and  summer   of  life  from  its  autumn 
and  winter,   and   whose   first   information   about 
railroads  was  received  from  Peter  Parley's  "  First 


'^  Book  of  History,"  which  was  used  as  a  school- 

book  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.     In  his  chapter  on  Mary- 


land, he  says 


But  the  most  curious  thing  at  Baltimore  is  the  railroad.  I  must  tell  you  that  there  is 
a  great  trade  between  Baltimore  and  the  States  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The 
western  people  buy  a  great  many  goods  at  Baltimore,  and  send  in  return  a  great  deal  of 
western  produce.  There  is,  therefore,  a  vast  deal  of  travelling  back  and  forth,  and  hun- 
dreds of  teams  are  constantly  occupied  in  transporting  goods  and  produce  to  and  from 
market.* 

Now,  in  order  to  carry  on  all  this  business  more  easily,  the  people  are  building  what 


*  An  engraving  of  a  team  and  of  a  "  Conestoga  "  wagon — which  was  used  in  this  traffic — taken  from 
a  photograph  of  one  which  has  survived  to  the  present  day,  is  given  opposite  (Fig.  i). 


RAILROADING   FIFTY   YEARS  AGO. 


lOI 


is  called  a  railroad.  This  consists  of  iron  bars  laid  along  the  ground,  and  made  fast,  so 
that  carriages  with  small  wheels  may  run  along  upon  them  with  facility.  In  this  way, 
one  horse  will  be  able  to  draw  as  much  as  ten  horses  on  a  common  road.     A  part  of  this 


Fig.  I. — Conestoga  Wagon  and  Team.     (Fronn  a  recent  photograph.) 

railroad  is  already  done,  and  if  you  choose  to  take  a  ride  upon  it,  you  can  do  so.  You 
will  mount  a  car  something  like  a  stage,  and  then  you  will  be  drawn  along  by  two  horses, 
at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour. 

The  picture  reproduced  below  (Fig.  2)  of  a  car  drawn  by 
horses  was  given  with  the  above  description  of  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad.  The  mutilated  copy  of  the  book  from  which  the 
engraving  and  extract  were  copied  does  not  give  the  date  when  it 
was  written  or  published.  It  was  probably  some  time  between  the 
years  1830  and  1835.  That  the  car  shown  in  the  engraving  was 
evolved  from  the  Conestoga  wagon  is  obvious  from  the  illus- 
trations. 

This  engraving  and  description,  made  for  children,  more  than 
fifty  years  ago,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  state  of  the  art  of  rail- 
roading at  that  time  ;  and  it  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  the  pres- 
ent wonderful  development  and 
the  improvements  in  railroads 
and  their  equipments  in  this 
country  have  been  made  during 
the  lives  of  persons  still  living. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1827, 
the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal 
Company  put  the  Carbondale 
Railroad  under  construction. 
The  road  extends  from  the  head  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal 
at  Honesdale,  Pa.,  to  the  coal  mines  belonging  to  the  Delaware  & 
Hudson  Canal  Company  at  Carbondale,  a  distance  of  about  sixteen 


Fig.  2. — Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,   1830-35. 


I02 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Fig.  3. — Boston  &  Worcester  Railroad,    1835. 


miles.  This  line  was  opened,  probably  in  1829,  and  was  operated 
partly  by  stationary  engines,  and  partly  by  horses.  The  road  is 
noted  chiefly  for  being  the  one  on  which  a  locomotive  was  first 

used  in  this  country. 
This  was  the  "  Stour- 
bridge Lion,"  which 
was  built  in  England 
under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Horatio  Allen, 
who  afterward  was 
president  of  the  Nov- 
elty Works  in  New  York,  and  who  is  still  (1889)  living  near 
New  York  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-seven.  Before  the  road 
was  opened,  he  had  been  a  civil  engineer  on  the  Carbondale 
line.  In  1828  Mr.  Allen  went  to  England,  the  only  place  where 
a  locomotive  was  then  in  daily  operation,  to  study  the  subject 
in  all  its  practical  details.  Before  leaving  this  country  he  was 
intrusted  by  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Company  with  the 
commission  to  have  rails  made  for  that  line,  and  to  have  three 
locomotives  built  on  plans  to  be  decided  by  him  when  in  Eng- 
land. This,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  before  the  celebrated 
trial  of  the  "Rocket"  on  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Rail- 
way, which  was  not  made  until  1829.  Previous  to  that  trial,  it 
had  not  been  decided  what  type  of  boiler  was  the  best  for 
locomotives.  The  result  of  Mr.  Allen's  investigations  was  to 
produce  in  his  mind  a  decided  confidence  in  the  multitubular 
boiler  which  is  now  universally  used  for  locomotives.  Other 
persons  of  experience  recommended  a  boiler  with  small  riveted 
flues  of  as  small  diarheter  as  could  be  riveted.  An  order  was 
therefore  eiven  to  Messrs.  Foster,  Rastrick  &  Co.,  at  Stour- 
brido-e,  for  one  enorine  whose  boiler  was  to  have  riveted  flues  of 
comparatively  large  size,  and  another  order  was  given  to  Messrs. 
Stephenson  &  Co.,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  for  two  locomotives 
with  boilers  having  small  tubes.  The  engine  built  by  Foster, 
Rastrick  &  Co  was  named  the  "Stourbridge  Lion,"  It  was  sent 
to  this  country  and  was  tried  at  Honesdale,  Pa.,  on  August  9, 
1829.  On  its  trial  trip  it  was  managed  by  Mr.  Allen,  to  whom 
belongs   the   distinction   of  having   run   the   first  locomotive    that 


ALLEN'S  TRLAL    TRIP   OF  THE  STOURBRIDGE  LION.     103 

was  ever  used  in   this  country.      In   1884  he  wrote  the  following 
account  of  this  trip  : 

When  the  time  came,  and  the  steam  was  of  the  right  pressure,  and  all  was  ready, 
I  took  my  position  on  the  platform  of  the  locomotive  alone,  and  with  my  hand  on  the 
throttle-valve  handle  said  :  "  If  there  is  any  danger  in  this  ride  it  is  not  necessary  that 
the  life  and  limbs  of  more  than  one  should  be  subjected  to  that  danger." 

The  locomotive,  having  no  train  behind  it,  answered  at  once  to  the  movement  of  the 
hand  ;  .  .  .  soon  the  straight  line  was  run  over,  the  curve  was  reached  and  passed 
before  there  was  time  to  think  as  to  its  not  being  passed  safely,  and  soon  I  was  out  of 
sight  in  the  three  miles'  ride  alone  in  the  woods  of  Pennsylvania.  I  had  never  run  a 
locomotive  nor  any  other  engine  before  ;   I  have  never  run  one  since. 

The   two   engines   contracted   for  with  Messrs.  Stephenson  & 
Co.  were   made  by  them,  and  Mr.  Allen  has  informed  the  writer 
that  they  were  built  on  substan- 
tially  the   same  plans   that  were 
afterward  embodied  in  the  famous 
"  Rocket."     They  were   shipped 

to  New  York  and  for  a  time  were  ;  ^       ,^_ 

stored  in  an  iron  warehouse    on  *''         ""^ 

the  east  side  of  the  city,  where 
they  were  exhibited  to  the  public. 
They  were  never  sent  to  the  Del- 
aware &  Hudson  Canal  Com- 
pany's road,  and  it  is  not  now 
known  what  ever  became  of  them. 

If  they  had  been  put  to  work  on  Ho-at.o  Anon. 

their  arrival  here  the  use  of  en- 
gines of  the  "  Rocket"  type  would  have  been  anticipated  on  this 
side  the  Atlantic. 

The  first  railroad  which  was  undertaken  for  the  transportation 
of  freight  and  passengers  in  this  country,  on  a  comprehensive 
scale,  was  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio.  Its  construction  was  begun  in 
1828.  The  laying  of  rails  was  commenced  in  1829,  and  in  May, 
1830,  the  first  section  of  fifteen  miles  from  Baltimore  to  Ellicott's 
Mills  was  opened.  It  was  probably  about  this  time  that  the  ani- 
mated sketch  of  the  car  given  by  Peter  Parley  was  made.  From 
1830  to  1835  many  lines  were  projected,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
year  there  were  over  a  thousand  miles  of  road  in  use. 

Whether  the  motive  power  on  these  roads  should  be  horses  or 


I04 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


kzz^zslly 


h  I 


Fig.  4. — Peter  Cooper's  Locomotive. 
1830. 


Steam  was  for  a  long  time  an  open  question.  The  celebrated  trial 
of  locomotives  on  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway,  in  England, 
was  made  in  1829.  Reports  of  these  trials,  and  of  the  use  of  loco- 
motive engines  on  the  Stockton  &  Darlington  line,  were  published 
in  this  country,  and,  as  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams  says,  "The 
country,  therefore,  was  not  only  ripe  to  accept  the  results  of  the 
Rainhill   contest,  but   it   was    anticipating  them  with  eager  hope." 

In  1829  Mr.  Horatio  Allen,  who  had  been 
in  England  the  year  before  to  learn  all  that 
could  then  be  learned  about  steam  locomo- 
^^^  tion,  reported  to  the  South  Carolina  Railway 
Company  in  favor  of  steam  instead  of  horse 
power  for  that  line.  The  basis  of  that  re- 
port, he  says,  "  Was  on  the  broad  ground 
that  in  the  future  there  was  no  reason  to 
expect  any  material  improvement  in  the 
breed  of  horses,  while,  in  my  judgment,  the 
man  was  not  living  who  knew  what  the  breed  of  locomotives  was 
to  place  at  command." 

As  early  as  1829  and  1830,  Peter  Cooper  experimented  with  a 
little  locomotive  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  (Fig.  4).  At 
a  meeting-  of  the  Master  Mechanics'  Association  in  New  York,  in 
1875 — at  the  Institute  which  bears  his  name — he  related  with  great 
glee  how  on  the  trial  trip  he  had  beaten  a  gray  horse,  attached  to 
another  car.  The  coincidence  that  one  of  Peter  Parley's  horses  is 
a  gray  one  might  lead  to  the  inference  that  it  was  the  same  horse 
that  Peter  Cooper  beat,  a  deduction  which  perhaps  has  as  sound  a 
basis  to  rest  on  as  many  historical  conclusions  of  more  importance. 
The  undeveloped  condition  of  the  art  of  machine  construction 
at  that  time  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  flues  of  the  boiler  of 
this  engine  were  made  of  gun-barrels,  which  were  the  only  tubes 
that  could  then  be  obtained  for  the  purpose.  The  boiler  itself  is 
described  as  about  the  size  of  a  flour-barrel.  The  whole  machine 
was  no  larger  than  a  hand-car  of  the  present  day. 

In  the  same  year  that  Peter  Cooper  built  his  engine,  the  South 
Carolina  Railway  Company  had  a  locomotive,  called  the  "  Best 
Friend,"  built  at  the  West  Point  Foundry  for  its  line.  In  1831  this 
company   had  another   engine,    the   "South  Carolina"    (Fig.    5), 


AN  EARLY  EIGHT-WHEELED  LOCOMOTIVE. 


105 


Fig.  5. — "South  Carolina,"   1831,  and  Plan  of  its  Running  Gear. 


which  was  designed  by  Mr.  Horatio  Allen,  built  at  the  same  shop. 
It  was  remarkable  in  having  eight  wheels,  which  were  arranged  in 
two  trucks.      One   pair  of  driving-wheels,  D  D  and  D  D' ,  and  a 
pair  of  leading-wheels,  L   L 
and  L'  L' ,  were  attached  to 
frames,  c  d  e  f  and  g  h  i  j, 
which  were  connected  to  the 
boiler   by    kingbolts,    K   K', 
about  which  the  trucks  could 
turn.      Each  pair  of  driving- 
wheels   had  one   cylinder,    C 
C .     These  were  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  engine   and  were 
connected   to   cranks   on  the 
axles  A  and  B. 

The  "  De  Witt  Clinton  " 
(Fig.  6)  was  built  for  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Railroad,  and  was 
the  third  locomotive  made  by  the  West  Point  Foundry  Association. 
The  first  excursion  trip  was  made  with  passengers  from  Albany  to 
Schenectady,  August  9,  1831.  This  is  the  engine  shown  in  the 
silhouette  eneravine  of  the  "first*  railroad  train  in  America" 
which  in  recent  years  has  been  so  widely  distributed  as  an  adver- 
tisement. 

In  1 83 1  the   Baltimore  &   Ohio   Railroad  Company   offered   a 
premium  of  $4,000  "  for  the  most  approved  engine  which  shall  be 

delivered  for  trial  upon  the  road  on  or 
before  the  ist  of  June,  1831;  and  $3,500 
for  the  engine  which  shall  be  adjudged 
the  next  best."  The  requirements  were 
as  follows : 

The  engine,  when  in  operation,  must  not  exceed  three 
and  one-half  tons  weight,  and  must,  on  a  level  road,  be 
capable  of  drawing   day  by  day  fifteen  tons,   inclusive 
Fig,  6.-The  "  De  Witt  cimton,"  1831.      of  the  weight  of  wagons,  fifteen  miles  per  hour. 

In  pursuance  of  this  call  upon   American  genius,   three    loco- 
motives were  produced,  but  only  one  of  these  was  made  to  answer 

*  It  was  not  really  the  first  train,  as  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  the  South  Carolina  roads  were  in 
operation  earlier. 


io6 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


any  useful  purpose.  This  engine,  the  "  York,"  was  built  at  York,. 
Pa.,  and  was  brought  to  Baltimore  over  the  turnpike  on  wagons. 
It  was   built  by   Davis   &   Gartner,  and  was  designed  by  Phineas. 


Fig.  7.  —  "Grasshopper"   Locomotive.      (From  an   old  photograph.) 


Davis,  of  that  firm,  whose  trade  and  business  was  that  of  a  watch 
and  clock  maker.  After  undergoing  certain  modifications,  it  was 
found  capable  of  performing  what  was  required  by  the  company. 
After  thoroughly  testing  this  engine,  Mr.  Davis  built  others,  which 
were  the  progenitors  of  the  "  grasshopper"  engines  (Fig.  7)  which 
were  used  for  so  many  years  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  three  of  these  are  still  in  use  on  that 
road,  and  have  been  in  continuous  service  for  over  fifty  years. 
Probably  there  is  no  locomotive  in  existence  which  has  had  so 
long  an  active  life. 

In  August,  183 T,  the  locomotive  "John  Bull,"  which  was  built 
by  George  &  Robert  Stephenson  &  Company,  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  was  received  in  Philadelphia,  for  the  Camden  &  Amboy 
Railroad  &  Transportation  Company.  This  is  the  old  engine 
which  was  exhibited  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  at 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  1876.  After  the  arrival  of  the  "John 
Bull  "  a  very  considerable  number  of  locomotives  which  were  built 


SWIVELLING    TRUCKS  FOR   LOCOMOTIVES. 


107 


by  the  Stephensons  were  imported  from  England.  Most  of  them 
were  probably  of  what  was  known  as  the  "  Planet"  class  (Fig.  8), 
which  was  a  form  of  engine  that  succeeded  the  famous  "  Rocket." 
The  following  quotation  is  from  "The  Early  History  of  Loco- 
motives in  this  Country,"  issued  by  the  Rogers  Locomotive  & 
Machine  Works  : 


These  locomotives,  which  were  imported  from  England,  doubtless  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent,  furnished  the  types  and  patterns  from  which  those  which  were  afterward  built 
here  were  fashioned.  But  American  designs  very  soon  began  to  depart  from  their  British 
prototypes,  and  a  process  of  adaptation  to  the  existing  conditions  of  the  railroads  in  this 
country  followed,  which  afterward  "  differentiated"  the  American  locomotives  more  and 
more  from  those  built  in  Great  Britain.  A  marked  feature  of  difference  between  Ameri- 
can and  English  locomotives  has  been  the  use  of  a  "truck"  under  the  former. 

In  all  of  the  locomotives  which  have  been  illustrated,  excepting 
the  "  South  Carolina,"  the  axles  were  held  by  the  frames  so  that 
the  former  were  always  parallel  to  each  other.  In  going  around 
curves,  therefore,  there  was  somewhat  the  same  difficulty  that  there 
would  be  in  turning  a  corner  with  an  ordinary  wagon  if  both  its 
axles  were  held  parallel,  and  the 
front  one  could  not  turn  on  the 
kingbolt.  The  plan  of  the  wheels 
and  running  gear  of  the  "South 
Carolina"  shows  the  position  that 
they  assumed  on  a  curved  track 
(Fig.  5).  It  will  be  seen  that,  by 
reason  of  their  connection  to  the 
boiler  by  kingbolts,  K  K',  the 
two  pairs  of  wheels  could  adjust 
themselves  to  the  curvature   of 

the  rails.  This  principle  was  afterward  applied  to  cars,  and  nearly 
all  the  rolling-stock  in  this  country  is  now  constructed  on  this  plan, 
which  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Allen  in  a  report  dated  May  16,  1831, 
made  to  the  South  Carolina  Canal  &  Railroad  Company  ;  and  an 
engine  constructed  on  this  principle  was  completed  the  same  year. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  183 1  the  late  John  B.  Jervis  in- 
vented what  he  called  "  a  new  plan  of  frame,  with  a  bearing-carriage 
for  a  locomotive  eneine,"  for  the  use  of  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson 
Railroad.      Jervis's   engine    is   shown   by    Figure  9.      In    a    letter 


Fig.  8.— The  "  Planet." 


io8 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


published  in  the  American  Railroad  Journal  oi  July  27,  1833,  he 
described  the  objects  aimed  at  in  the  use  of  the  truck  as  follows  : 

The  leading  objects  I  had  in  view,  in  the  general  arrangement  of  the  plan  of  the  en- 
gine, did  not  contemplate  any  improvement  in  the  power  over  those  heretofore  con- 
structed by  Stephenson   &   Company,*  but  to  make    an  engine   that  would  be  better 

adapted  to  railroads  of  less  strength  than 
are  common  in  England  ;  that  would  travel 
with  more  ease  to  itself  and  to  the  rail  on 
curved  roads  ;  that  would  be  less  affected 
by  inequalities  of  the  rail,  than  is  attained 
by  the  arrangement  in  the  most  approved 
engines. 

In  Jervis's  locomotive  the 
main  driving-axle,  A,  shown  in 
the  plan  of  the  wheels  and  run- 
ning gear,  was  rigidly  attached 
to  the  engine-frame,  abed,  and 
only  one  truck,  or  "  bearing-car- 

Fig.  9.-John  B.  Jervis|s^Locom^tiv^e.    1831,  and  Plan  of  its     j-iage,"    6  f  g  II,    COnslstiug    of  the 

two  pairs  of  small  wheels  at- 
tached to  a  frame,  was  used.  This  was  connected  to  the  main 
engine-frame  by  a  kingbolt,  K,  as  in  Allen's  engine. 

The  position  of  its  wheels  on  a  curve,  and  the  capacity  of  the 
truck,  or  "  bearing-carriage,"  to  adapt  itself  to  the  sinuosities  of 
the  track  are  shown  in  the  plan.  The  effectiveness  of  the  single 
truck  for  locomotives,  in  accomplishing  what  Mr.  Jervis  intended  it 
for,  was  at  once  recognized,  and  its  almost  general  adoption  on 
American  locomotives  followed. 

In  1834,  Ross  Winans,  of  Baltimore,  patented  the  application 
of  the  principle  which  Mr.  Allen  had  proposed  and  adopted  for 
locomotives  "  to  passenger  and  other  cars."  He  afterward  brought 
a  number  of  actions  at  law  against  railroads  for  infringement  of  his 
patent,  which  was  a  subject  of  legal  controversy  for  twenty  years. 
Winans  claimed  that  his  invention  originated  as  far  back  as  1831, 
and  was  completed  and  reduced  to  practice  in  1834.  The  dispute 
was  finally  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and 
was  decided  against  the  plaintiff,  after  an  expenditure  of  as  much 
as  $200,000  by  both  sides.      It  involved  the  principle  on  which 

*  The  truck  was  first  applied  by  Mr.  Jervis  to  an  engine  built  by  R.  Stephenson  &  Co. ,  of  England. 


THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVE    OF  THE  MODERN  TYPE.      109 


nearly  all  cars  in  this  country  are  now  and  were  then  built ;  and, 
as  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  defendants  has  said,  "  It  was  at  one 
time  a  question  of  millions,  to  be  assured  by  a  verdict  of  a  jury." 

In  1836,  Henry  R.  Campbell,  of  Philadelphia,  patented  the  use 
of  two  pairs  of  driving-wheels  and  a  truck,  as  shown  in  Figure  10. 
The  driving-wheels  were  coupled  by  rods,  as  may  be  seen  below. 
This  plan  has  since  been  so  generally  adopted  in  this  country  that 
it  is  now  known  as  the  "American  type"  of  locomotive,  and  is  the 
one  almost  universally  used  here  for  passenger,  and  to  a  consider- 
able extent  for  freight,  service.  An  example  of  a  modern  locomo- 
tive of  this  type  is  represented  by  Figure  1 1. 

From  these  comparatively  small  beginnings,  the  magnificent 
equipment  of  our  railroads  has  grown.  From  Peter  Cooper's  loco- 
motive, which  weighed  less  than  a  ton,  with  a  boiler  the  size  of  a 
flour-barrel,  and  which  had  difficulty  in  beating  a  gray  horse,  we  now 
have  locomotives  which  will  easily  run  sixty  and  can  exceed  seventy 
miles  an  hour,  and  others  which  weigh  seventy-five  tons  and  over. 
A  comparison  of  the  engraving  of  Peter  Cooper's  engine  with  that 
of  the  modern  standard  express  passenger  locomotive  (^Fig.  11) 
shows  vividly  the  progress  which  has  been  made  since  that  first 
experiment  was  tried — little  more  than  half  a  century  ago.  In  that 
period  there  have  been  many  modifications  in  the  design  of  loco- 
motives to  adapt  them  to  the  changed  conditions  of  the  various 
kinds  of  traffic  of  to-day.  An 
express  train  travelling  at  a  high 
rate  of  speed  requires  a  locomo- 
tive very  different  from  one  which 
is  designed  for  handling  heavy 
freight  trains  up  steep  mountain- 
grades.  A  special  class  of  en- 
gines is  built  for  light  trains 
making  frequent  stops,  as  on  the 
elevated  railroads  in  New  York, 
and  those  provided  for  suburban 
traffic  (Fig.  12) — and  still  others  for  street  railroads  (Fig.  13),  for 
switching  cars  at  stations  (Fig.  14),  etc.  [Pp.  110  and  113].  The  pro- 
cess of  differentiation  has  gone  on  until  there  are  now  as  many  dif- 
erent  kinds  of  these  machines  as  there  are  breeds  of  dogs  or  horses. 


Fig.   10. — Campbell's  Locomotive. 


no 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Fig.  12. — Locomotive  for  Suburban  Traffic.     By  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  Philadelphia, 

Nearly  all  the  early  locomotives  had  only  four  wheels.  In  some 
cases  one  pair  alone  was  used  to  drive  the  engine,  and  in  others 
the  two  pairs  were  coupled  together,  so  that  the  adhesion  of  all 
four  could  be  utilized  to  draw  loads.  The  four-wheeled  type  is 
still  used  a  great  deal  for  moving  cars  at  stations,  and  other  pur- 
poses where  the  speed  is  comparatively  slow.     But  to  run  around 


Fig.  13. — Locomotive  for  Street  Railway.     By  the  Baldwin   Locomotive  Works. 

sharp  curves  the  wheels  of  such  engines  must  be  placed  near  to- 
gether, just  as  they  are  under  an  ordinary  street-car.  This  makes 
the  wheel-base  very  short,  and  such  engines  are  therefore  very  un- 


NECESSITY  FOR   FLEXIBLE  RUNNING-GEAR. 


113 


steady  at  high  speeds,  so  that  they  are  unsuited  for  any  excepting 
slow  service.  They  have  the  advantage,  though,  that  the  whole 
weight  of  the  machine  may  be  carried  on  the  driving-wheels,  and 


Fig.  14. — Four-wheeled   Switching  Locomotive.     By  the   Baldwin  Loconnotive  Works,  Philadelphia. 


can  thus  be  useful  for  increasing  their  friction,  or  adhesion  to  the 
rails.  This  gives  such  engines  an  advantage  for  starting  and  mov- 
ing heavy  trains,  at  stations  or  elsewhere,  which  is  the  kind  of  ser- 
vice in  which  they  are  usually  employed. 

If  the  front  end  of  the  engine  is  carried  on  a  truck,  as  in  Camp- 
bell's plan  (Fig.  10) — which  is  the  one  that  has  been  very  generally 
adopted  in  this  country — the  wheel-base  can  be  extended  and  at  the 
same  time  the  front  wheels  can  adjust  themselves  to  the  curvature 
of  the  track.  This  gives  the  running-gear  lateral  flexibility.  But 
as  the  tractive  power  of  a  locomotive  is  dependent  upon  the  fric- 
tion, or  adhesion  of  the  wheels  to  the  rails,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  the  pressure  of  the  wheels  on  the  rails  should  be  uni- 
form. For  this  reason  the  wheels  must  be  able  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  vertical  as  well  as  the  horizontal  inequalities  of  the 
track. 

Figure  15  shows  the  driving-wheels,  axles,  journal-boxes,  and 
part  of  the  frame  and  springs  of  an  American  type  of  engine — the 


114 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


circumference  of  the  wheels  only  being  shown.     The  axles  A  A 
each    have     ournal-boxes   or  bearings,  B  B,  in  which   they  turn. 

These  boxes 
are  held  be- 
tween the  jaws 

7  77  y  of  the 

frames,  and  can 
slide  vertically 
in  the  spaces  c 

Fig.  15. — Driving:  Wheels,  Frames,  Spurs,  etc.,  of  American  Locomotive.  C      C      C       DCtWeen 

the  jaws.  The 
frames  are  suspended  on  springs,  S  S,  which  bear  on  the  boxes  ^.5. 
The  vertical  motion  of  the  boxes  and  the  flexibility  of  the  springs 
allow  the  wheels  to  adjust  themselves  to  some  extent  to  the  un- 
evenness  of  the  track.  But,  in  order  to  distribute  the  weight  equally 
on  the  two  wheels,  the  springs  6"  S  on  each  side  of  the  engine 
are  connected  together  by  an  equalizing  lever,  E  E.  These  levers 
each  have  a  fulcrum,  E,  in  the  middle,  and  are  connected  by  iron 
straps  or  hangers,  Ji  //,  to  the  springs.  It  is  evident  that  any  strain 
or  tension  on  one  spring  is  transferred  by  the  equalizing  lever  to 
the  other  spring,  and  thus  the  weight  is  equalized  on  both  wheels. 

But  to  give  perfect  vertical  adjustment  of  such  an  engine  to  the 
track,  still  another  provision  must  be  made.  Everyone  has  ob- 
served that  a  three-legged  stool  will  always  stand  firm  on  any  sur- 
face, no  matter  how  irregular,  but  one  with  four  legs  will  not. 
Now  if  the  back  end  of  a  locomotive  should  rest  on  the  fulcrums 
of  the  equalizing  levers,  as  shown  in  Figure  15,  and  the  front  end 
should  rest  on  the  two  sides  of  the  truck,  it  would  be  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  four  legged  stool.  Therefore,  instead  of  resting  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  truck,  locomotives  are  made  to  bear  on  the 
centre  of  it,  so  that  they  are  carried  on  it  and  on  the  two  fulcrums 
of  the  equalizing  levers,  which  gives  the  machine  the  adjustability 
due  to  the  three-legged  principle.  When  more  than  four  driving- 
Avheels  are  used  the  springs  are  connected  together  by  equalizing 
levers,  as  shown  in  Figure  29  (p.  124),  which  represents  a  consol- 
idation engine  as  it  appears  before  the  wheels  are  put  under  it. 

Having  a  vehicle  which  is  adapted  to  running  on  a  railroad  track, 
it  remains  to  supply  the  motive  power.     This,  in  all  but  some  very 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  A   LOCOMOTIVE  BOILER. 


115 


few  exceptional  cases,  is  the  expansive  power  of  steam.  What  the 
infant  electricity  has  in  store  for  us  it  would  be  rash  to  predict,  but 
for  locomotives  its  steps  have  been  thus  far  weak  and  uncertain, 
and  when  we  want  a  giant  of  steel  or  a  race-horse  of  iron  our  only 
sure  reliance  is  steam.  This  is  the  breath  of  life  to  the  locomotive, 
which  is  inhaled  and  exhaled  to  and  from  the  cylinders,  which  act 
as  lungs,  while  the  boiler  fulfils  functions  analogous  to  the  digestive 
organs  of  an  animal.  A  locomotive  is  as  dependent  on  the  action 
of  its  boiler  for  its  capacity  for  doing  work  as  a  human  being  on  that 
of  his  stomach.  The  mechanical  appliances  of  the  one  and  the 
mental  and  physical  equipment  of  the  other  are  nugatory  without  a 
good  digestive  apparatus. 

A  locomotive  boiler  consists  of  a  rectangular  fireplace  or  fire- 
box, as  shown  at  A,  in  Figure  16,  which  is  a  longitudinal  section,  and 
Figure  17  a  transverse  section  through  the  fire-box.  The  fire-box  is 
connected  with  the  smoke-box  i^  by  a  large  number  of  small  tubes, 
a  a,  through  which  the  smoke  and  products  of  combustion  pass  from 
the  fire-box  to  the  smoke-box,  and  from  the  latter  they  escape  up 


Fig.  16. — Longitudinal   Section  of  a  Locomotive  Boiler. 


Fig.   17 — Transverse 
Section. 


the  chimney  D.  The  fire-box  and  tubes  are  all  surrounded  with 
water,  so  that  as  much  surface  as  possible  is  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  fire.  This  is  essential  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of 
water  which  must  be  evaporated  in  such  boilers.  To  create  a 
strong  draught,  the  steam  which  is  exhausted  from  the  cylinders 
is  discharged   up   the  chimney  through  pipes,  and  escapes  at  e. 


ii6 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


This  produces  a  partial  vacuum  in  the  smoke-box,  which  causes  a 
current  of  air  to  flow  through  the  fire  on  the  grate,  into  the  fire-box, 
through  the  tubes,  and  thence  to  the  smoke-box  and  up  the  chim- 
ney. Probably  many  readers  have  noticed,  that  of  late  years  the 
smoke-boxes  of  locomotives  have  been  extended  forward  in  front 
of  the  chimneys.  This  has  been  done  to  give  room  for  deflectors 
and  wire  netting  inside  to  arrest  sparks  and  cinders,  which  are  col- 
lected in  the  extended  front  and  are  removed  by  a  door  or  spout, 
L,  below. 

To  get  the  water  into  the  boiler  against  the  pressure  of  steam 
a  very  curious  instrument,  called  an  injector,  has  been  devised. 
Formerly  force-pumps  were  used,  but  these  are  now  being  aban- 
doned. The  illustration  (Fig.  i8)  shows  what  maybe  called  a  rudi- 
mentary injector.  ^  is  a  boiler  and  E  a  conical  tube  open  at  its 
lower  end — and  connected  to  a  water-supply  tank  by  a  pipe,  C.  A 
pipe,  A,  is  connected  with  the  steam-space  of  the  boiler  and  termi- 
nates in  a  contracted  mouth,  F,  inside  of  the  cone  ^5^.  If  steam  is 
admitted  to  A,  it  flows  through  the  pipe  and  escapes  at  F.  In  doing 
so  it  produces  a  partial  vacuum  in  E,  and  water  is  consequently 
drawn  up  the  pipe  C  from  the  tank.     The  current  of  steam  now 

carries  with  it  the  water,  and  they 
escape  at  G.  After  flowing  for  a 
few  seconds  the  water  has  a  high 
velocity  and  the  steam,  mingling 
with  the  water,  is  condensed. 
The  momentum  of  the  water  soon 
becomes  sufficient  to  force  the 
valve  H  down  against  the  press- 
ure below  it,  and  the  jet  of  water 
then  flows  continuously  into  the 
boiler.  A  very  curious  phenom- 
enon of  this  somewhat  mysterious 
instrument  is  that  if  steam  of  a  low  pressure  is  taken  from  one  boiler 
it  will  force  water  into  another  against  a  higher  pressure.  Figure 
19  is  a  section  of  an  actual  injector  used  on  locomotives. 

Having  explained  how  the  steam  is  generated,  it  remains  to 
show  how  it  propels  a  locomotive.  It  does  this  very  much  as  a 
person  on  a  bicycle  propels  it — that  is,  by  means  of  two  cranks 


Fig.  18. — Rudimentary  Injector, 


HOW  STEAM  GETS  INTO    THE   CYLINDERS. 


117 


the  wheels  are  made  to  revolve,  and  the  latter  must  then  either  slip 
or  the  vehicle  will  move.  In  a  locomotive  the  driving-wheels  are 
turned  by  means  of  two  cylinders  and  pistons,  which  are  connected 
by  rods  to  the  cranks  attached  to  the  driving- 
wheels  or  axles.  These  cranks  are  placed  at 
right  angles  to  each  other,  so  that  when  one 
of  them  is  at  the  "dead-point"  the  piston 
connected  with  the  other  can  exert  its  maxi- 
mum power  to  rotate  the  wheels.  This  ena- 
bles the  locomotive  to  start  with  the  pistons 
in  any  position  ;  whereas,  if  one  cylinder  only 
was  used  it  would  be  impossible  to  turn  the 
wheels  if  the  crank  should  stop  at  one  of  its 
dead-points. 

It  will  probably  interest  a  good  many 
readers  to  know  how  the  steam  gets  into  the 
cylinders  and  moves  the  pistons  and  then 
gets  out  again,  and  how  a  locomotive  is  made 
to  run  either  backward  or  forward  at  pleasure. 

Figure  20  (p.  118)  shows  a  section  of  a 
cylinder,  A  A' ,  with  the  piston  B  and  piston 
rod  R.  The  cylinder  has  two  passages,  c  c  and 
d  d,  which  connect  its  ends  with  a  box,  U,  call- 
ed a  steam-chest,  to  which  steam  is  admitted 
from  the  boiler  by  a  pipe,  y.  The  two  passages  c  and  d  have 
another  one,  g,  between  them,  which  is  connected  with  the  chim- 
ney. These  passages  are  covered  by  a  slide-valve,  V,  which 
moves  back  and  forth  in  the  steam-chest,  alternately  uncovering  the 
openings  c  and  d.  When  the  valve  is  in  the  position  shown  in  Fig- 
ure 20,  obviously  steam  can  flow  into  the  front  end  A  of  the  cylinder 
through  the  passage  c,  as  indicated  by  the  darts.  The  valve  has  a 
cavity,  H,  underneath  it.  When  this  cavity  is  over  the  passage  d 
and  g,  it  is  plain  that  the  steam  in  the  back  end  A'  of  the  cylinder 
can  flow  through  d  and  g  and  then  escape  up  the  chimney.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  steam  in  the  front  end  A  of  the  cylinder 
will  force  the  piston  B  to  the  back  end.  When  it  reaches  the  back 
end  of  the  cylinder  the  valve  is  moved  into  the  position  shown  in 
Figure  21,  and  steam  can  then  enter  d  and  will  fill  the  back  endy^' 


Fig.  19. — Injector   used  on    Loco- 
motives. 


ii8 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Figs.  20  (above)  and  2  i . — Sections  of  a  Loconnotive  Cylinder. 


while  that  in  the  front  end  escapes  through  c  and  g.  The  piston 
is  then  forced  to  the  front  end  by  the  pressure  of  the  steam  behind 
it.     It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  steam  enters  and  escapes  to  and 

from   the  cylinder   through   the 
same  openings. 

From  what  has  been  said  it 
is  obvious,  too,  that  ev^ery  time 
the  piston  moves  from  one  end 
of  the  cylinder  to  the  other  the 
valve  must  also  be  moved  back 
and  forth  in  the  steam-chest. 
This  is  done  by  what  is  called 
an  eccentric. 

An  "eccentric"  is  a  disk  or 
wheel  (Fig.  22)  with  a  hole,  S, 
the  size  of  the  axle  of  the  loco- 
motive to  which  it  is  attached. 
The  centre  n  of  the  outside  pe- 
riphery of  the  eccentric  is  some 
distance  from  S,  the  centre  of  the  shaft.  A  metal  ring,  K  K  (Fig.  23), 
made  in  two  halves,  embraces  the  eccentric,  and  the  latter  revolves  in- 
side of  this  ring.  A  rod,  Z,  is  attached  to  the  strap,  and  is  connected 
with  the  valve  so  that  the  motion  of  the  eccentric  is  communicated 
to  it.  It  is  obvious  that  if  the  ec- 
centric revolves  it  will  impart  a 
reciprocating  motion  to  the  rod 
L,  which  is  communicated  to  the 
valve. 

If  properly   adjusted   on   the 
axle   the   eccentric   will   run    the 
enofine  in  one  direction.      To  run 
the  opposite  way  another  eccen- 
tric must  be  provided.    Therefore 
locomotives  always  have  two  ec- 
centrics for  each  cylinder.    These,  ^ and  K,  are  shown  in  Figure  24, 
which  represents  the  "valve-gear"  of  a  locomotive.      6Ms  a  section 
of  the  main  driving-axle,  to  which  the  eccentrics  are  attached  by 
keys  or  screws.      C  is  the  eccentric  rod  of  the  forward-motion  ec- 


Fig.  22. —  Eccentric 


^ 


Fig.  23. —  Eccentric  and   Strap. 


OPERATION  OF  THE   ECCENTRIC. 


119 


centric  and  D  that  of  the  one  for  running  backward.  As  a  locomo- 
tive must  be  run  either  backward  or  forward,  and,  as  the  one  ec- 
centric moves  the  valve  to  run  forward  and  the  other  to  run 
backward,  we  must  be  able  to  connect  or  disconnect  the  rods  to 
and  from  the  valve  at  will.  The  eccentric 
rods  of  the  early  locomotives  had  hooks  on 
the  ends  by  which  they  were  attached  to  or 
detached  from  suitable  pins  connected  with 
the  valves.  But  these  hooks  were  very  un- 
certain in  their  action  and  therefore  were 
abandoned,  and  now  what  is  known  as  the 


Fig.  24. — Valve   Gear. 

"  link-motion  "  is  almost  universally  used  for  the  valve-gear  of  loco- 
motives. It  consists  of  a  "link"  {a  b.  Fig.  24)  which  has  a  curved 
opening  or  slot,  k,  in  it  in  which  a  block,  B,  fits  accurately,  so  that 
it  can  slide  from  end  to  end  of  the  link.  This  block  has  a  hole 
bored  in  the  middle  which  receives  a  pin,  c,  which  is  attached  to 
the  end  of  the  arm  N  of  the  "rocker  "  MON.  The  rocker  has  a 
shaft,  O,  which  can  turn  in  a  suitable  bearing,  and  two  arms,  vl/and 
N ;  the  latter,  as  explained,  is  connected  to  the  link  by  the  pin  c 
and  block  B.  The  upper  arm  I\I  has  another  pin,  V,  on  its  end, 
which  is  connected  by  a  rod,  v  V,  to  the  main  slide-valve  V.  The 
rocker-arms,  as  will  be  seen,  can  vibrate  about  the  shaft  O. 

The  link  is  hung  by  a  pendulous  bar,^/^,  to  the  end  ^^  of  the  arm 
E,  attached  to  the  shaft  A.  This  shaft  has  another  upright  arm,  F, 
which  is  connected  by  a  rod  or  bar,  G  G' ,  to  a  lever,  H  I,  called  a 
reverse  lever,  whose  fulcrum  is  at  /.  To  save  room,  in  the  engrav- 
ing this  lever  and  the  cylinder  G  are  drawn  nearer  to  the  main  axle 
S  than  they  would  be  on  an  engine.     The  lever  is  located  inside 


I20  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 

the  cab  of  the  locomotive,  and  is  indicated  by  the  numbers  17  17'  in 
Figure  36  on  p.  133,  which  is  a  view  looking  from  the  tender  at  the 
back  end  of  a  locomotive.  The  lever  has  a  trigger  (/,  Fig.  24) 
which  is  connected  by  a  rod,  r,  to  a  latch,  /,  which  engages  in  the 
notches  of  the  sector  S  S' .  This  latch  holds  the  lever  in  any  de- 
sired position  and  can  be  disengaged  from  the  notches  by  grasping 
the  upper  end  of  the  lever  and  the  trigger. 

It  is  plain  that,  by  moving  the  upper  end  of  the  reverse  lever, 
the  link  a  b  can  be  raised  up  or  lowered  at  will.  When  the  link  is 
down,  or  in  the  position  represented  in  the  engraving,  the  forward 
eccentric  rod  imparts  its  motion  to  the  block  B,  pin  c,  and  thence  to 
the  rocker  and  valve,  and  the  engine  will  run  forward.  If,  however, 
the  reverse  lever  is  thrown  back  into  the  position  indicated  by  the 
dotted  line  y  I,  the  link  would  then  be  raised  up  so  that  the  end  e 
of  the  backward-motion  rod  would  be  opposite  to  the  block  B  and 
pin  c  and  would  communicate  its  motion  to  the  rocker  and  valve, 
and  the  wheels  would  then  be  turned  backward  instead  of  forward. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  how  the  movement  of  the  reverse  lever  effects 
the  reversal  of  the  engine. 

A  locomotive  is  started  by  admitting  steam  to  the  cylinders 
by  means  of  what  is  called  the  "throttle-valve."  This  is  usually 
placed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  boiler  at  7"  (Fig.  16).  The  valve 
is  worked  by  a  lever  at  /,  which  is  also  shown  at  14,  14'  (Fig.  -^6). 
The   steam  is  conveyed  to  the  cylinders   by  a  pipe   {s,  Fig.    16, 

P-II5). 

If  steam  is  admitted  to  the  cylinders  and  the  wheels  are  turned, 
one  of  two  results  must  follow :  either  the  locomotive  will  move 
backward  or  forward  according  to  the  direction  of  revolution,  or 
the  wheels  will  slip,  as  they  often  do,  on  the  rails.  That  is,  if  the 
resistance  of  the  cars  or  train  is  less  than  the  friction  or  "  adhesion  " 
of  the  wheels  on  the  rails,  the  engine  and  train  will  be  moved ;  if 
the  adhesion  is  less  than  the  resistance  the  wheels  will  turn  without 
moving  the  train. 

The  capacity  of  a  locomotive  to  draw  loads  is  therefore  depen- 
dent on  the  adhesion,  and  this  is  in  proportion  to  the  weight  or 
pressure  of  the  driving-wheels  on  the  rails.  The  adhesion  also 
varies  somewhat  with  the  weather  and  the  condition  of  the  wheels 
and  rails.      In  ordinary  weather  it  is  equal  to  about  one-fifth  of  the 


THE    WEIGHT   WHICH  RAILS    WILL   CARRY. 


121 


Fig.  25. — Turning  Locomotive  Tires. 

weight  which  bears  on  the  track ;  when  perfectly  dry,  if  the  rails 
are  clean,  it  is  about  one-fourth,  and  with  the  rails  sanded  about 
one-third.  In  damp  or  frosty  weather  the  adhesion  is  often  con- 
siderably less  than  a  fifth. 

It  would,  then,  seem  as  though  all  that  is  needed  to  increase 
the  capacity  of  a  locomotive  to  draw  loads  would  be  to  add  to  the 
weight  on  its  driving-wheels,  and  provide  engine-power  sufficient 
to  turn  them — which  is  true.  But  it  has  been  found  that  if  the 
weight  on  the  wheels  is  excessive  both  the  wheels  and  rails  will  be 
injured.  Even  when  they  are  all  made  of  steel,  they  are  crushed 
out  of  shape  or  are  rapidly  worn  if  the  loads  are  too  great.  The 
weight  which  rails  will  carry  without  being  injured  depends  some- 
what on  their  size  or  weight,  but  ordinarily  from  12,000  to  16,000 
pounds  per  wheel  is  about  the  greatest  load  which  they  should 
carry. 

For  these  reasons,  when  the  capacity  of  a  locomotive  must  be 
increased  beyond  a  limit  indicated  by  these  data,  one  or  more   ad- 


122 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


ditional  pairs  of  driving-wheels  must  be  used.  Thus,  if  a  more 
powerful  engine  was  required  than  that  shown  in  Figure  14  (p.  113), 
another  pair  of  wheels  would  be  added,  as  shown  in  Figures  26, 
27,  and  28.  Or,  if  you  wanted  a  more  powerful  engine  than  these, 
still  another  pair  of  driving-wheels  would  be  provided,  as  shown  in 
Figure  30.      In  this  way  the  Mogul,  ten- wheeled  and  consolidation 


Fig.  26. — Six-wheeled   Switching   Locomotive.     By  the  Schenectady  Loconnotive  Works. 

engines  have  been  developed  from  that  shown  in  Figure  14.  The 
Mogul  locomotive  (Fig.  27)  has  three  pairs  of  driving-wheels,  but 
only  one  pair  of  truck-wheels.  The  engravings  shown  in  Figures 
30  and  31  represent  consolidation  and  decapod  types  of  engines 
which  have  four  and  five  pairs  of  driving-wheels. 

From  the  illustrations,  Figures  28,  30,  and  31,  it  will  be  seen 
that  when  so  many  wheels  are  used,  even  if  they  are  of  small  diam- 
eter, the  wheel-base  must  necessarily  be  long,  so  that  a  limit  is  very 
soon  reached  beyond  which  the  number  of  driving-wheels  cannot 
be  increased. 

Improvements  in  the  processes  of  manufacturing  steel,  which 
resulted  in  the  general  use  of  that  material  for  rails  and  tires,  have 
made  it  possible  to  nearly  double  the  weight  which  was  carried  on 
each  wheel  when  they  were  made  of  iron.  The  weight  of  rails 
has  also  been  very  much  increased  since  they  were  first  made  of 
steel.  Twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago  iron  rails  weighing  56 
pounds  per  yard  were  about  the  heaviest  that  were  laid  in   this 


INCREASED    WEIGHT  OF  RAILS. 


123 


Fig.  27. — Mogul  Locomotive.     By  the  Schenectady  Locomotive  Works. 

country.  Now  steel  rails  weighing-  72  pounds  are  commonly  used, 
and  some  weighing  85  pounds  have  been  laid  on  American  roads, 
and  others  weighing  100  pounds  have  been  laid  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe, 

Of  late  years  urban  and  suburban  traffic  has  created  a  demand 
for  a  class  of  locomotives  especially  adapted  to  that  kind  of  service. 
One  of  the  conditions  of  that  traffic  is  that  trains  must  stop  and 
start  often,  and  therefore,  to  "make  fast  time,"  it  is   essential   to 


Fig.  28. — Ten-wheeled   Passenger  Locomotive.     By  the  Schenectady  Locomotive   Works. 


124 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Fig.  29. — Consolidation  Locomotive  i^Li.-.finjr^cd;, 

start  quickly.  Few  persons  realize  the  great  amount  of  force  which 
must  be  exerted  to  start  any  object  suddenly.  A  cannon-ball,  for 
example,  will  fall  through  16  feet  in  a  second  with  no  other  resist- 
ance than  the  atmosphere.  The  impelling  force  in  that  case  is  the 
weight  of  the  ball.  If  we  want  it  to  fall  32  feet  during  the  first 
second,  the  force  exerted  on  it  must  be  equal  to  double  its  weight, 
and  for  higher  speeds  the  increase  of  force  must  be  in  the  same 
proportion.  This  law  applies  to  the  movement  of  trains.  To  start 
in  half  the  time,  double  the  force  must  be  exerted.  For  this  reason, 
trains  which  start  and  stop  often  require  engines  with  a  great  deal 
of  weight  on  the  driving-wheels.  In  accordance  with  these  condi- 
tions a  class  of  engines  has  been  designed  which  carry  all,  or  nearly 
all,  the  weight  of  the  boiler  and  machinery,  and  sometimes  the 


Fig.  3o. — Consolidation  Locomotive.      By  the   Pennsylvania  Railroad   Company, 


^^^^S 


ENGINES  FOR   SUBURBAN  TRAFFIC. 


125 


water  and  fuel,  on  the  driving-wheels.  For  suburban  traffic,  the 
speed  between  stops  must  often  be  quite  rapid,  and  consequently 
the  engine  must  have  a  long  wheel-base  for  steadiness,  as  well  as 
considerable  weight  on  the  wheels  for  adhesion.  Four-wheeled 
engines  (Fig.  14)  have  all  their  weight  on  the  driving-wheels,  but 
the  wheel-base  is  short. 


Fig.  31  — Detapod   Locumotive.      By   tue    Baldwin   Lu^oniotive   Woiks,  Plu;adeipMij. 

To  combine  the  two  features,  engines  have  been  built  with  the 
driving-wheels  and  axles  arranged  as  in  Figure  32.  The  frames  are 
then  extended  backward,  and  the  water-tank  and  fuel  are  placed  on 
top  of  the  frames,  and  their  weight  is  carried  by  a  truck  underneath. 
This  arrangrement  leaves  the  whole  weight  of  the  boiler  and  ma- 
chinery  on  the  driving-wheels,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  a  long 
wheel-base  for  steadiness.  This  plan  of  engine  was  patented  by 
the  author  of  this  article  in  1866,  and  has  come  into  very  general 
use — since  the  expiration  of  the  patent.  In  some  cases  a  two- 
wheeled  truck  is  added  at  the  opposite  end,  as  shown  in  Figure  ^Z- 
For  street  railroads,  in  which  the  speed  is  necessarily  slow,  engines 
such  as  Figure  13  (p.  no)  are  used.  To  hide  the  machine  from 
view,  and  also  to  give  sufficient  room  inside,  they  are  enclosed  in 
a  cab  large  enough  to  cover  the  whole  machine. 

The  size  and  weight  of  locomotives  have  steadily  been  increased 
ever  since  they  were  first  used,  and  there  is  little  reason  for  think- 
ing that  they  have  yet  reached  a  limit,  although  it  seems  probable 
that  some  material  change  of  design  is  impending  which  will  per- 
mit of  better  proportions  of  the  parts  or  organs  of  the  larger  sizes. 


126 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


The  decapod  engines  built  at  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  in 
Philadelphia,  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  weigh  in  working 
order  148,000  pounds.  This  gives  a  weight  of  13,300  pounds  on 
each  driving-wheel.  Some  ten-wheeled  passenger  engines,  built  at 
the  Schenectady  Locomotive  Works  for  the  Michigan  Central  Rail- 
road, weigh  118,000  pounds,  and  have  15,666  pounds  on  each  driv- 
ing-wheel. Some  recent  eight-wheeled  passenger  locomotives  for 
the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad  weigh  115,000 
pounds,  and  have  19,500  pounds  on  each  driving-wheel.  At  the 
Baldwin    Works,    some    "  consolidation "    engines    have    recently 

been  built  which 
are  still  heavier 
than  the  decapod 
engines. 

The  followinof 
table  gives  dimen- 
sions, weight, 
price,  and  price 
per  pound  of  loco- 
motives at  the 
present  time.  If 
we  were  to  quote 
them  at  8  to  '^\  cents  per  pound  for  heavy  engines  and  9  to  22^  for 
smaller  sizes,  it  would  not  be  much  out  of  the  way. 

Dimensions,    WeigJits,  and  Approximate  Prices  of  Locomotives. 


Fig.  32. — "  Forney 


Tank  Locomotive.      By  the   Rogers  Locomotive   and    Maciiine 
Works,  Paterson,  N.  J. 


Type. 


Cylinders. 


"  American  "  Passenger i8  24 

'' Mogul  "  Freight 19  24 

"  Ten-wheel  "  Freight 19  24 

"Consolidation"  Freight..  20  24 

"  Decapod  "  Freight 22  26 

Four-wheel  Tank  Switchingi  15  24 
Six-wheel    Switching,    with 

tender , 18  24 

"  F'orney  "  N.  V.  Elevated..  11  16 
Street-car    Motor    Locomo- 
tive   I  10  14 


Diameter 

of 
driving- 
wheel. 


62  to  68 
SO  to  56 
50  to  58 

SO 

46 

50 

50 
42 

35 


Weight  of 
engine  in 
working  or- 
der, exclus- 
ive of  tender 

Weight   of 
engine  and 
tender  with- 
out water  or 
fuel. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

92,000 
96,000 

110,000 
116,000 

100,000 

118,000 

120,000 
150,000 
58,000 

132,000 

165,000 

47,000 

84,000 

98,000 

42  000 
22,000 

34,000 

f 
18,000  -I 

11 

Approximate 
price. 


$8,750 

9,500 

9.750 
10,500 
13,250 

5.500       . 

8,500 

4,500 

$3,500  to.$4, 000 

according  to 

design. 


Price  per 
pound. 


Cents. 
7-95 

8.19 
8.26 

7-95 

8.03 

11.70 


1323 

19  44  to 
22  22 


THE  LAW  OF  SPEED. 


127 


'"'g-  33- — "  Hudson  "   Tank   Locomotive.      By  the  Baldwin   Locomotive  Wl 


The  speed  of  locomotives,  however,  has  not  increased  with  their 
weight  and  size.  There  is  a  natural  law  which  stands  in  the  way 
of  this.  If  we  double  the  weight  on  the  driving-wheels,  the  adhe- 
sion, and  consequent  capacity  for  drawing  loads,  is  also  doubled. 
Reasoning  in  an  analogous  way,  it  might  be  said  that  it  we  double 
the  circumference  of  the  wheels  the  distance  that  they  will  travel  in 
one  revolution,  and  consequently  the  speed  of  the  engine,  will  be  in 
like  proportion.  But,  if  this  be  done,  it  will  require  twice  as  much 
power  to  turn  the  large  wheels  as  was  needed  for  the  small  ones ; 
and  we  then  encounter  the  natural  law  that  the  resistance  increases 
as  the  square  of  the  speed,  and  probably  at  even  a  greater  ratio  at 
very  high  velocities.  At  60  miles  an  hour  the  resistance  of  a  train 
is  four  times  as  great  as  it  is  at  30  miles.  That  is,  the  pull  on  the 
draw-bar  of  the  engine  must  be  four  times  as  great  in  the  one  case 
as  it  is  in  the  other.  But  at  60  miles  an  hour  this  pull  must  be  ex- 
erted for  a  given  distance  in  half  the  time  that  it  is  at  30  miles,  so 
that  the  amount  of  power  exerted  and  steam  generated  in  a  given 
period  of  time  must  be  eight  times  as  great  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other.  This  means  that  the  capacity  of  the  boiler,  cylinders,  and 
the  other  parts  must  be  greater,  with  a  corresponding  addition  to 


128  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 

the  weight  of  the  machine.  Obviously,  if  the  weight  per  wheel  is 
limited,  we  soon  reach  a  point  at  which  the  size  of  the  driving- 
wheels  and  other  parts  cannot  be  enlarged  ;  which  means  that  there 
is  a  certain  proportion  of  wheels,  cylinders,  and  boiler  which  will 
give  a  maximum  speed. 

The  relative  speed  of  trains  here  and  in  Europe  has  been  the 
subject  of  a  good  deal  of  discussion  and  controversy.  There  ap- 
pears to  be  very  little  difference  in  the  speed  of  the  fastest  trains 
here  and  there ;  but  there  are  more  of  them  there  than  we  have. 
From  48  to  53  miles  an  hour,  including  stops,  is  about  the  fastest 
time  made  by  our  regular  trains  on  the  summer  time-tables. 

When  this  rate  of  speed  is  compared  with  that  of  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  an  hour,  which  is  not  infrequent  for  short  distances,  there 
seems  to  be  a  great  discrepancy.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  though, 
that  these  high  rates  of  speed  are  attained  under  very  favorable 
conditions.  That  is,  the  track  is  straight  and  level,  or  perhaps  de- 
scendino-  and  unobstructed.  In  ordinarv  traffic  it  is  never  certain 
that  the  line  is  clear.  A  locomotive-runner  must  always  be  on  the 
look-out  for  obstructions.  Trains,  ordinary  vehicles,  a  fallen  tree 
or  rock,  cows,  and  people  may  be  in  the  way  at  any  moment.  Let 
anyone  imagine  himself  in  responsible  charge  of  a  locomotive  and 
he  will  readily  understand  that,  with  the  slightest  suspicion  that  the 
line  is  not  clear,  he  would  slacken  the  speed  as  a  precautionary 
measure.  For  this  reason  fast  time  on  a  railroad  depends  as  much 
on  having  a  good  signal  system  to  assure  the  locomotive-runners 
that  the  line  is  clear,  as  it  does  on  the  locomotives.  If  he  is  always 
liable  to  encounter,  and  must  be  on  the  look-out  for,  obstructions  at 
frequent  grade-crossings  of  common  roads,  or  if  he  is  not  certain 
whether  the  train  in  front  of  him  is  out  of  his  way  or  not,  the  loco- 
motive-runner will  be  nervous  and  be  almost  sure  to  lose  time.  If 
the  speed  is  to  be  increased  on  American  railroads,  the  first  steps 
should  be  to  carry  all  streets  and  common  roads  either  over  or  un- 
der the  lines,  have  the  lines  well  fenced,  provide  abundant  side- 
tracks for  trains,  and  adopt  efficient  systems  of  signals  so  that  loco- 
motive-runners can  know  whether  the  line  is  clear  or  not. 

In  what  may  be  called  the  period  of  adolescence  of  railroads 
there  was  a  very  decided  predilection  on  the  part  of  locomotive  en- 
gineers for  large  driving-wheels.     Figure  34  represents  one  of  the 


RELATION  OF  STEAM-SUPPLY  TO   SPEED. 


129 


engines  built  as  early  as  1848  for  the  Camden  &  Amboy  Railroad, 
with  driving  wheels  8  feet  in  diameter.  Other  engines  with  6  and 
7  feet  wheels  were  not  uncommon.  In  Europe  many  engines  with 
very  large  wheels  were  made  and  are  still  in  use.  Here,  as  well 
as  there,  excessively  large  wheels  have,  however,  been  abandoned, 
and  six  feet  in  diameter  is  now  about  the  limit  of  their  size  in  this 
country. 

So  far  as  locomotives  are  concerned,  fast  time,  especially  with 
heavy  trains,  is  generally  dependent  more  upon  the  supply  of  steam 
than  it  is  on  the  size  of  the  wheels.  Without  steam  to  turn  them, 
big  wheels  are  useless ;  but  with  an  abundant  supply  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  turning  small  wheels  at  a  lively  rate.  Speed,  therefore, 
Is  to  a  great  extent  a  question  of  boiler  capacity,  and  the  general 
maxim  has  been  formulated  that  "  within  the  limits  of  weight  and 
space  to  which  a  locomotive  boiler  must  be  confined,  it  cannot  be 
made  too  big."  But  the  maximum  speed  at  which  a  locomotive 
can  run  when  an  adequate  supply  of  steam  is  provided  also  de- 
pends on  the  perfection  of  the  machinery.  At  60  miles  an  hour  a 
driving-wheel  5^  feet  in  diameter  revolves  five  times  every  second. 
The  reciprocating  parts  of  each  cylinder  of  a  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
passenger  engine,  including  one  piston,  piston-rod,  cross-head,  and 

connecting  rod, 
weigh  about  650 
pounds.  These 
parts  must  move 
back  and  forth  a 
distance  equal  to 
the  stroke,  usual- 
ly two  feet,  every 
time  the  wheel 
revolves,  or  in  a 
fifth  of  a  second. 
It  starts  from  a 
state  of  rest  at  each  end  of  the  stroke  ot  the  piston  and  must  ac- 
quire a  velocity  of  32  feet  per  second,  in  one-twentieth  of  a  second, 
and  must  be  brought  to  a  state  of  rest  in  the  same  period  of  time. 
A  piston  18  inches  in  diameter  has  an  area  of  254^  square  inches. 
Steam  of  150  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch  would  therefore 
9 


^'g-  34- — Camden  &  Amboy  Locomotive,  if 


THE   CAB   END    OF  A    LOCOMOTIVE.  -  131 

exert  a  force  on  the  piston  equal  to  38,175  pounds.  This  force  is 
apphed  alternately  on  each  side  of  the  piston,  ten  times  in  a  second. 
The  control  of  such  forces  requires  mechanism  which  works  with 
the  utmost  precision  and  with  absolute  certainty,  and  it  is  for  this 
reason  that  the  speed  and  the  economical  working-  of  a  locomotive 
depend  so  much  on  the  proportions  of  the  valves  and  the  "  valve- 
gear  "  by  which  the  "distribution"  of  steam  in  the  cylinders  is 
controlled. 

The  engraving  (Fig.  2)^^  on  p.  133  represents  the  cab  end  of  a 
locomotive  of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad, 
looking  forward  from  the  tender,  and  shows  the  attachments  by 
which  the  engineer  works  the  engine.*  This  gives  an  idea  of 
the  number  of  keys  on  which  he  has  to  play  in  running  such  a 
machine.  There  is  room  here  for  little  more  than  an  enumeration 
of  the  parts  which  are  numbered  : 

1.  Engine-bell  rope. 

2.  Train-bell  rope. 

3.  Train-bell  or  gong. 

4.  Lever  for  blowing  whistle. 

5.  Steam-gauge  to  indicate  pressure  in  boiler. 

6.  Steam-gauge  lamp  to  illuminate  face  of  gauge. 

7.  Pressure-gauge  for  air-brake  ;  to  show  pressure  in  air-reservoirs. 

8.  Valve  to  admit  steam  to  air-brake  pump. 

9.  Automatic  lubricator  for  oiling  main  valves. 

10.  Cock  for  admitting  steam  to  lubricator. 

11.  Handle  for  opening  valves  in  sand-box  to  sand  the  rails. 

12.  Handle  for  opening  the  cocks  which  drain  the  water  from  the  cylinders. 

13.  Valve  for  admitting  steam  to  the  jets  which  force  air  into  the  fire-box. 

14.  14'.  Throttle-valve  lever.  This  is  for  opening  the  valve  which  admits  steam  to  the 
cylinders. 

15.  Sector  by  which  the  throttle-lever  is  held  in  any  desired  position. 

16.  "  Lazy-cock  "  handle.  A  "  lazy-cock  "  is  a  valve  which  regulates  the  water-supply 
to  the  pumps  and  is  worked  by  this  handle. 

17.  17'.  Reverse  lever. 

18.  Reverse-lever  sector. 

19.  19,  19.  Gauge-cocks  for  showing  the  height  of  the  water  in  the  boiler ;  19'  is  a  pipe 
for  carrying  away  the  water  which  escapes  when  the  gauge-cocks  are  opened. 

20.  20.   Oil-cups  for  oiling  the  cylinders,  f 

21.  Handle  for  working  steam-valve  of  injector. 

22.  Handle  for  controlling  water-jet  of  the  injector. 
25.   Handle  for  working  water-valve  of  injector. 

*  It  should  be  mentioned  that  this  is  not  one  of  the  most  recent  types  of  engines.  The  arrangement 
of  parts  in  the  cab  has  been  somewhat  simplified  in  later  locomotives. 

t  This  engine  had  two  different  appliances  for  oiling  the  cylmders,  a  pair  of  oil-cups,  20,  20,  and 
an  automatic  oiler,  9. 


132  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 

24.  Oil-can  shelf. 

25.  Handle  for  air-brake  valve. 

26.  Valve  for  controlling  air-brake. 

27.  Pipe  for  conducting  air  to  brakes  under  the  cars. 

28.  Pipe  connected  with  air-reservoir. 

29.  Pipe-connection  to  air-pump. 

30.  Handle  for  working  a  valve  which  admits  or  shuts  off  the  air  for  driving-wheel 
brakes. 

31.  Valve  for  driving-wheel  brakes. 

32.  32'.   Lever  for  moving  a  diaphragm  in  smoke-box,  by  which  the  draught  is  regu- 
lated. 

33.  Handle  for  raising  or  lowering  snow-scrapers  in  front  of  truck-wheels. 

34.  Handle  for  opening  cock  on  pump  to  show  whether  it  is  forcing  water  into  the 
boiler. 

35.  Lamp  to  light  the  water-gauge,  51,  51. 

36.  Air-hole  for  admitting  air  to  fire-box. 

37.  Tallow-can  for  oiling  cylinders. 

38.  Oil-can. 

39.  Shelf  for  warming  oil- cans. 

40.  Furnace  door. 

41.  Chain  for  opening  and  closing  the  furnace  door. 

42.  Handles  for  opening  dampers  on  the  ash-pan. 

43.  Lubricator  for  air-pump. 

44.  Valve  for  admitting  steam  to  the  chimney  to  blow  the  fire  when  the   engine   is 
standing  still. 

45.  Valve  for  admitting  steam  to  the  train-pipes  for  warming  the  cars. 

46.  Valve  for  reducing  the  pressure  of  the  steam  used  for  heating  cars. 

47.  Cock  which  admits  steam  to  the  pressure-gauge,  48. 

48.  Pressure-gauge  which  indicates  the  steam-pressure  in  heater  pipes. 

49.  Pipe  for  conducting  steam  to  the  train  to  heat  the  cars. 

50.  Cock  for  water-gauge,  51. 

51.  51.  Glass  water-gauge  to  indicate  the  height  of  water  in  the  boiler. 

52.  Cock  for  blowing  off  impurities  from  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  boiler. 

Besides  being  impressive  as  a  triumph  of  human  ingenuity, 
there  is  much  about  the  construction  and  working  of  locomotives 
which  is  picturesque.  A  shop  where  they  are  constructed  or  re- 
paired is  always  of  interest.  An  engine-house  (Fig.  35)  especially 
at  night,  is  full  of  weird  suggestions  and  food  for  the  imagination. 

Figure  37  (p.  135)  is  an  illustration  from  a  photograph  taken 
in  the  erecting  shops  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  in  Phila- 
delphia;  and  Figure  38  (p.  137)  is  a  view  of  a  similar  shop  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Altoona,  which  suggests  at  a  glance 
many  of  the  processes  of  construction  which  go  on  in  these  great 
works.  At  Altoona  are  immense  travelling  cranes  resting  on  brick 
arches  and  spanning  the  shop  from  side  to  side.     These  are  power- 


IMMENSE    TRAVELLING   CRANES. 


"^ZZ 


Fig.  36.— Cab    End  of  a   Locomotive  and   its  Attachments. 

ful  enough  to  take  hold  of  the  largest  locomotive  and  lift  it  bodily 
rom  the  rails  and  transfer  it  laterally  or  longitudinally  at  will.  A 
large  consolidation  engine  is  shown  in  Figure  ^^^,  swung  clear  of 
the  rails,  and  in  the  act  of  being  moved  laterally.  The  hooks  of 
the  crane  are  attached  to  heavy  iron  beams,  from  which  the  loco- 


134  AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND    CARS. 

motive  is  suspended  by  strong  bars.  Figure  39  (p.  138)  is  a  view- 
in  the  blacksmiths'  shop  of  the  Baldwin  Works,  showing  a  steam 
hammer  and  the  operation  of  forging  a  locomotive  frame. 

It  is  quite  natural  that  the  engineers,  or  "runners,"  as  they 
generally  call  themselves,  who  have  the  care  of  locomotives  should 
take  a  deep  interest  in  and  acquire  a  sort  of  attachment  for  them. 
In  the  earlier  days  of  railroading  this  was  much  more  the  case  than 
it  is  now.  Then  each  locomotive  had  an  individuality  of  its  own. 
It  was  rare  that  two  engines  were  exactly  alike.  Nearly  always 
there  was  some  difference  in  their  proportions,  or  one  engine  had 
some  device  in  it  which  the  other  had  not.  Now,  many  locomo- 
tives are  made  exactly  alike,  or  as  nearly  so  as  the  most  improved 
machinery  will  permit.  There  is  nothing  to  distinguish  the  one 
from  the  other.  Therefore  Bony  Smith  can  claim  no  superiority 
for  his  machine  which  Windy  Brown  has  not  the  advantage  of.  In 
the  old  days,  too,  each  engine  had  its  own  runner  and  fireman,  and 
it  seldom  fell  into  the  hands  of  anyone  else,  and  those  in  charge 
of  it  took  as  much  pride  in  keeping  it  bright  as  the  character  in 
"  Pinafore  "  did  "  in  polishing  up  the  handle  of  the  big  front  door." 
On  many  roads — particularly  the  larger  ones — engines  are  not  as- 
signed to  special  men.  The  system  of  "  first  in  first  out "  has  been 
adopted  ;  that  is,  the  engines  are  sent  out  in  the  order  in  which  they 
come  in,  and  the  men  take  whichever  machine  happens  to  fall  to 
their  lot.  This  naturally  results  in  a  loss  of  personal  attachment 
to  special  engines. 

Every  change  in  the  construction,  alteration  in  the  proportions, 
or  addition  to  the  attachments  of  locomotives  is  a  subject  of  intense 
interest  to  the  men  and  a  topic  of  endless  discussion  at  all  times 
and  places.  The  theories  which  are  propounded,  and  the  yarns 
which  are  spun  while  sitting  around  hot  stoves  in  round-houses,  or 
waiting  for  passing  trains  on  side-tracks,  would  fill  many  books. 
Jack  never  tires  of  telling  what  his  engine  did  when  "she  was  go- 
ing up  Rattlesnake  Grade,"  and  Smoky  Bill  grows  excited  when 
he  describes  how  Ninety-six  turned  her  wheels  in  making  up 
forty-nine  minutes  time  in  the  down  run  with  the  "  electric  express." 

Locomotive  engineers  and  firemen  read  with  avidity  everything 
which  is  explanatory  of  the  construction  or  working  of  locomotives, 
but  generally  have  a  contempt  for  things  which  have  no  practical 


THE    QUALTFICATJONS   OF   GOOD  RUNNERS. 


137 


Fig.  38. — Interior  of  Erecting  Shop,  Showing  Locomotive  Lifted  by  Travelling  Crane. 


bearing.  They  demand  "  lucidity"  in  what  they  read  with  as  much 
vehemence  as  Matthew  Arnold  did.  and  some  editors  and  collegre 
professors,  whose  writing  and  thinking  are  foggy,  would  be  greatly 
benefited  by  the  criticisms  of  the  Locomotive  Brotherhood, 

Much  might  be  written  about  the  duties  of  locomotive-runners 
and  firemen,  and  the  qualifications  required.  It  is  the  general 
opinion  of  locomotive  superintendents  that  it  is  not  essential  that 
the  men  who  run  locomotives  should  be  good  mechanics.  The 
best  runners  or  engineers  are  those  who  have  been  trained  while 
young  as  firemen  on  locomotives.  Brunei,  the  distinguished  civil 
engineer,  said  that  he  never  would  trust  himself  to  run  a  locomotive 
because  he  was  sure  to  think  of  some  problem  relating  to  his  pro- 
fession which  would  distract  his  attention  from  the  engine.  It  is 
probably  a  similar  reason  which  sometimes  unfits  good  mechanics 
for  being  good  locomotive-runners. 

It  will  perhaps  interest  some  readers  to  know  how  much  fuel 
a  locomotive  burns.  This,  of  course,  depends  upon  the  quality  of 
fuel,  work  done,  speed,  and  character  of  the  road.  With  freight 
trains  consisting  of  as  many  cars  as  a  heavy  locomotive  can  draw 
without  difficulty,  the  consumption  of  coal  will   not   exceed    from 


138 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Fig.  39. — Forging  a  Locomotive  Frame. 


I  to  i|^  pounds  of  coal  per  car  per  mile  if  the  engine  is  carefully 
managed.  It  takes  from  15  to  20  pounds  of  coal  per  mile  to  move 
an  engine  and  tender  alone,  the  consumption  being  dependent  upon 
the  size  of  the  engine,  speed,  grades,  and  number  of  stops.  If  this 
amount  of  coal  is  allowed  for  the  engine  and  tender,  and  the  balance 
that  is  consumed  is  divided  among  the  cars,  it  will  reduce  the  quan- 
tity for  hauling  the  cars  alone  to  even  less  amounts  than  those  given 
above.  In  ordinary  average  practice  the  consumption  is  from  3  to 
5  pounds  per  freight-car  per  mile,  without  making  any  allowance  for 
the  engine  and  tender.  With  passenger  trains,  the  cars  of  which 
are  heavier  and  the  speed  higher,  the  coal  consumption  is  from  10 
to  15  pounds  per  car  per  mile.  A  freight  locomotive  with  a  train 
of  40  cars  will  burn  40  to  200  pounds  of  coal  per  mile,  the  amount 
depending  on  the  care  with  which  it  is  managed,  quality  of  the 
coal,  grades,  speed,  weather,  and  other  circumstances. 


THE   EVOLUTION  OF  RAILWAY  CARS. 


139 


AMERICAN   CARS. 

Peter  Parley's  illustration  (p.  loi)  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  represents  one  of  the  earliest  passenger- cars  used  in  this 
country.  The  accuracy  of  the  illustration  may,  however,  be  ques- 
tioned. Probably  the  artist  depended  upon  his  imagination  and 
memory  somewhat  when  he  drew  it.  The  engraving  below  (Fig. 
40)  is  from  a  drawing  made  by  the  resident  engineer  of  the 
Mohawk  &  Hudson  Railroad,  and  from  which  six  coaches  were 
made  by  James  Goold  for  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Railroad  in  1831. 
It  is  an  authentic  representation  of  the  cars  as  made  at  that  time. 
Other  old  prints  of  railroad  cars  represent  them  as  substantially 
stage-coach  bodies  mounted  on  four  car-wheels,  as  shown  by  Fig- 
ure 41.  The  next  step  in  the  development  of  cars  was  that  of  join- 
ing together  several  coach-bodies.  This  form  was  continued  after 
the  double-truck  system  was  adopted,  as  shown  by  Figure  42,  which 
represents  an  early  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  car,  having  three 
sections,  united.  It  was  soon  displaced  by  the  rectangular  body, 
as  shown  in  Figure  43,  which  is  a  reproduction  from  an  old  print. 

Figure  44  is  an  illustration  of  a  car  used  for  the  transportation 
of  flour  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  while  horses  were  still 
used  as  the  motive  power.  To  show  how  nearly  all  progress  is  a 
process  of  evolution,  it  was  asserted,  in  one  of  the  trials  of  the  valid- 
ity of  Winans'  patent  on  eight-wheeled  cars  with  two  trucks,  that 


Fig.  40.— Mohawk  &  Hudson  Car,  183  i. 
(From  the  original  drawing  by  the  resident  engineer.) 


Fig.  41. — Early  Car. 
(From  an  old  print.) 


before  the  date  of  his  patent  it  was  a  practice  to  load  firewood  by 
connecting  two  such  cars  with  long  timbers,  which   rested  on  bol- 


140 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


Pig_  42 — Eariy  Car  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 


sters  attached  by  kingbolts  to  the  cars.  The  wood  was  loaded  on 
top  of  these  timbers,  as  shown  in  Figure  45.  An  old  car  (Fig.  46), 
which    antedated   Winans'  patent    and  was   used   at  the    Ouincy 

granite  quarries  for  carrying 
large  blocks  of  stone,  was  also 
introduced  as  evidence  for  the 
defendants  in  that  suit.  Al- 
though Winans  was  not  able  to 
establish  the  validity  of  his  pat- 
ent on  eio-ht-wheeled  cars  with 
two  trucks,  he  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  to  put  it  into  prac- 
tical form,  and  did  a  great  deal  to  introduce  the  system. 

The  progress  in  the  construction  of  cars  has  been  fully  as  great 
as  in  that  of  locomotives.  If  the  old  stage-coach  bodies  on  wheels 
are  compared  with  a  vestibule  train  of  to-day  the  difference  will  be 
very  striking.  Most  of  us  who  are  no  longer  young  can  recall  the 
days  when  sleeping-cars  were  unknown,  when  a  journey  from  an 
Eastern  city  to  Chicago  meant  forty-eight  hours  or  more  of  sitting 
erect  in  a  car  with  thirty  or  more  passengers,  and  an  atmosphere 
which  was  fetid.  Happily  those  days  are  past,  although  the  im- 
provement in  the  ventilation  of  cars  has  been  very  slow,  and  is 
still  very  imperfect. 

Improvement  has  also  lagged  in  the  matter  of  coupling  cars. 
It  has  been  shown  by  statistics  and  calculations  that  some  hundreds 


Fig.  43. — Early  American  Car,   1834. 


of  persons  are  killed  and  some  thousands  injured  in  this  country 
annually  in  coupling  cars.  The  use  of  automatic  coupling,  by  which 
cars  could  be  connected  together  without  going  between  them,  it  has 
been  supposed,  would  greatly  lessen,  if  it  would  not  entirely  pre- 
vent, this  fearful  sacrifice  of  life  and  limb.     To  accomplish  this  end. 


NECESSITY  FOR  A    UNIFORM  COUPLER. 


141 


Fig.  44. — Old  Car  for  Carrying  Flour 
on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 


though,  it  is  essential  that  some  one  form  of  coupler  shall  be  gen- 
erally adopted  by  all  railroads.  One  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
this  has  been  the  mechanical  difficulty  of  finding  a  mechanism  which 

will  satisfactorily  accomplish  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  intended.  After  thirty  or  forty 
years  of  invention  and  experiment,  no  auto- 
matic coupler  has  been  produced,  which  has 
been  approved  by  competent  judges  with  a 
sufficient  degree  of  unanimity  to  justify  its 
general  adoption.  The  patents  on  that  class  of  inventions  are 
numbered  by  thousands,  so  that  it  is  no  light  task  to  select  the 
best  one  or  even  the  best  kind.  Besides  this  difficulty,  there  is 
the  other  equally  formidable  one  of  inducing  railroad  men,  of  vari- 
ous degrees  of  knowledge,  ignorance,  and  prejudice  regarding  this 
subject,  and  who  are  scattered  all  over  the  continent,  to  agree  in 
adopting  some   one  form  or  kind  of  automatic  coupler.     Various 


Fig.  45.  — Old   Car  for  Carrying  Firewood   on  the   Baltimore  &  Ohio   Railroad. 

cliques  had  also  been  organized  on  different  roads  in  the  interest  of 
some  patents,  and  in  such  cases  argument  and  reason  addressed  to 
them  were  generally  wasted.  Public  indignation  was,  however, 
aroused ;  and  the  stimulus  of  legislation  in  different  States  com- 
pelled railroad  officers  to  give  serious  attention  to  the  subject. 
After  devoting  some  years  to  the  investigation,  the  Master  Car- 
Builders'  Association — which   is   composed  of  officers   of  railroad 

companies,  who  are  in  charge  of 
the  construction  and  repair  of  cars 
on  the  different  lines — has  recom- 
mended the  adoption  of  a  coupler 
F,»  .fi    oiH  r       th  n       r    >  t,  ,    H        of  the  typc  represented  by  Fig- 

rig.  46. — Uld   Car  on  the   Quincy   Granite   Railroad.  y  i  i  j  <z> 

ures  47  to  49,  which  has  been 
already  applied  to  many  cars  and  the  indications  are  that  it  will  be 
very  generally  adopted  for  freight  and  probably  for  passenger  cars. 


142 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


If  it  should  be,  it  will  relieve  railroad  employees  of  the  dangerous 
duty  of  going  between  cars  to  couple  them.  Figure  47  shows  a 
plan  looking  down  on  the  couplers  with  one  of  the  latches,  A, 
open  ;  Figure  48  shows  it  with  the  two  couplers  partly  engaged ; 
and  Figure  49  shows  them  when  the  coupling  is  completed. 

One  of  the  first  problems  which  presented  itself  in  the  infancy 
of  railroads  was  how  to  keep  the  cars  on  the  rails. 

Anyone  who  will  stand  close  to  a  line  of  railroad  when  a  train 
is  rushing  by  at  a  speed  of  forty,  fifty,  or  sixty  miles  an  hour  must 
wonder  how  the  engine  and  cars  are  kept  on  the  track ;  and  even 
those  familiar  with  the  construction  of  railroad  machinery  often  ex- 
press astonishment  that  the  flanges  of  the  wheels,  which  are  merely 
projecting  ribs  about  \\  inches  deep  and  i^  inches  thick,  are  sufli- 
cient  to  resist  the  impetus  and  swaying  of  a  locomotive  or  car  at 
full  speed.  The  problem  of  the  manufacture  of  wheels  which  will 
resist  this  wear,  and  will  not  break,  has  occupied  a  great  deal  of 
the  attention  of  railroad  managers  and  manufacturers. 

Locomotive  driving-wheels  in  this  country  are  always  made  of 
cast-iron,  with  steel  tires  which  are  heated  and  put  on  the  wheels 
and  then  cooled.  They 
are  thus  contracted 
and  "  shrunk  "  on  the 
wheel.  The  tread,  that 
is,  the  surface  which 
bears  on  the  rail,  and  the 
flanore  of  the  tire  are  then 
turned  off  in  a  lathe, 
shown  in  Figure  25,  on  p. 
121,  made  especially  for  the 
purpose.  For  engine-truck, 
tender,  and  car-wheels,  until 
within  a  few  years,  "  chill- 
ed "  cast-iron  wheels  have 
been  used  almost  exclusive- 
ly on  American  railroads.  If  the  tread  and  flange  of  a  wheel  were 
made  of  ordinary  cast-iron  they  would  soon  be  worn  out  in  service, 
as  such  iron  has  ordinarily  litde  capacity  for  resisting  the  wear  to 
which   wheels   are   subjected.     Some  cast-iron,   however,  has  the 


Janney  Car  Coupler,  showing  the  Process  of  Coupling. 


JIOW  WHEELS  ARE   CAST. 


14: 


singular  property  which  causes  it  to  assume  a  peculiar,  hard  crys- 
talline form  if,  when  it  is  melted,  it  is  allowed  to  cool  and  solidify 
in  contact  with  a  cold  iron  mould.  The  iron  which  is  thus  cooled 
quickly,  or  "  chilled,"  becomes  very  hard,  and  resists  wear  very 
much  better  than  iron  which  is  not  chilled.  Car- wheels  which  are 
made  of  this  material  are  therefore  cast  in  what  is  called  a  chill- 
mould.  Figure  50  represents  a  section  of  such  a  mould  and  flask  in 
which  wheels  are  cast. 

A  A  is  the  wheel,  which  is  moulded  in  sand  in  the  usual  way. 
The  part  B  B  oi  the  mould,  which  forms  the  rim  or  tread  of  the 
wheel,  consists  of  a  heavy  cast-iron  ring.  The  melted  iron  is  poured 
into  this  mould  and 
comes  in  contact 
with  B  B.  This 
effect  of 
the  hot 
has  been 
explained.  In 
cooling,  the  wheel 
contracts ;  and  for 
that  reason  the  part 
between  the  rim  C  and  the  hub  D  is  made  of  a  curved  form,  as 
shown  in  the  section,  so  that  if  one  part  should  cool  more  rapidly 
than  another  these  parts  can  yield  sufficiently  to  permit  contraction 
without  straining  any  portion  of  the  wheels  injuriously.  For  the 
same  reason  the  ribs  on  the  back  of  the  wheels,  as  shown  in  Fig- 
ure 51,  are  also  curved.  As  an  additional  safeguard  to  the  unequal 
contraction  in  cooling,  the  wheels  are  taken  out  of  the  mould  while 
they  are  red-hot,  and  placed  in  ovens  where  they  are  allowed  to 
remain  several  days  so  as  to  cool  very  slowly. 

Figure  52,  on  p.  145,  represents  a  section  of  the  tread  and 
flange  of  a  chilled  wheel,  showing  the  peculiar  crystalline  appear- 
ance of  the  chilled  iron. 

In  making  cast-iron  wheels  the  quality  of  the  iron  used  is  of  the 
utmost  importance.  The  difficulty  in  making  good  wheels  lies  in 
the  fact  that  most  iron  which  is  ductile  and  tough  will  not  chill, 
whereas  hard  white  iron,  which  has  the  chilling  property  in  a  very 
high  degree,  is  brittle,  and  wheels  which  are  made  of  it  are  liable 


has    the 
chilling 
iron,   as 


Fig.  50. — Mould  and   Flask  in  which  Wheels  are  Cast. 


144 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


to  break.  There  are  some  kinds  of  cast-iron  produced  in  this 
country  which  have  the  two  quaHties  combined,  in  a  very  remark- 
able degree ;  that  is,  they  are  ductile  and  tough,  and  will  also  chill. 


f^'g-    5'  — Cast-iron   Car  Wheels. 


Wheel-founders  also  mix  different  qualities  of  irons  to  produce 
wheels  with  the  required  strength,  and  which  will  resist  wear ; 
that  is,  they  use  a  certain  amount  of  hard  white  iron  which  will 
chill,  with  that  which  is  ductile  and  soft.  By  changing  the  propor- 
tions, any  required  amount  of  chill  can  be  produced.  The  danger 
is  that  iron  which  has  little  strength  or  ductility  will  be  fortified 
with  hard  chilling  iron,  and  a  very  weak  wheel  will  thus  be  the  re- 
sult. Thousands  of  such  wheels  have  been  bought  and  used  be- 
cause they  are  cheap,  and  many  lamentable  accidents  are  undoubt- 
edly due  to  this  cause.  To  guard  against  this,  car-wheels  should 
always  be  subjected  to  rigid  tests  and  inspection. 

In  Europe  wheels  are  made  of  wrought-iron,  with  tires  which 
were  also  made  of  the  same  material  before  the  discovery  of  the 
improved  processes  of  manufacturing  steel,  but  since  then  they 
have  been  made  of  the  latter  material.  Owing  to  the  breakage 
of  a  great  many  cast-iron  wheels  of  poor  quality,  steel-tired  wheels 
are  now  coming  into  very  general  use  on  American  roads  under 
passenger-cars  and  engines.  A  great  variety  of  such  wheels  is 
now  made.  The  "centres"  or  parts  inside  the  tires  of  some  of 
them  are  cast-iron,  and  others  are  wrought-iron  constructed  in 
various  ways. 


PAPER    CAR    WHEELS. 


145 


What  is  known  as  the  Allen  paper  wheel  is  used  a  great  deal  in 
this  country,  especially  under  sleeping-cars.     A  section  and  front 
view  of  one  of  these  wheels  is  shown  by  Figure  53.     It  consists  of  a 
cast-iron  hub,  A, 
which  is  bored  out 
to  fit  the  axle.  An 
annular  disk,  B  B, 
is  made  of  layers 
of   paper-b  o  a  r  d 
glued    together 
and  then  subject- 
ed   to     an    enor- 
m  o  u  s     pressure. 
The  disk  is  then 
bored    out    to    fit 

the      hub,      and     its  Fig.  52.— section  of  the  Tread  and   F.ange  of  a  Car  Wlieel. 

circumference     is 

turned  off,  and  the  tire  C  C  is  fitted  to  it.  Two  wroueht-iron 
plates,  P  P,  are  then  placed  on  either  side  of  it,  and  the  disk, 
plates,  tire,  and  hub  are  all  bolted  together.  The  paper,  it  will 
be  seen,  bears  the  weight  which  rests  on  the  hub  of  the  axle  and 
the  hub  of  the  wheel. 

Steel  tires  have  the  advantage  that  when  they  become  worn 
their  treads  and  flanges  may  be  turned  off  anew,  whereas  chilled 

cast-iron  wheels  are  so  hard 
gfefj  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  cut  them  with  any  turning 
tool.  For  this  reason  ma- 
chines have  been  constructed 
for  grinding  the  tread  with  a 
rapidly  revolving  emery- 
wheel.  In  these  the  cast-iron 
wheel  is  made  to  turn  slowly, 
whereas  the  emery-wheel  re- 
volves very  rapidly.  The 
emery-wheel  is  then  brought 
close  to  the  cast-iron  wheel,  so  that  as  they  revolve  the  projections 
on  the  latter  are  cut  away,  and  the  tread  is  thus  reduced  to  a  true 


F'ig-  53-— Alien   Paper  Car  Wheel. 


146 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


circular  form.  These  machines  are  much  used  for  "truing-up" 
wheels  which  have  been  made  flat  by  sliding,  owing  to  the  brakes 
being  set  too  hard. 

It  would  require  a  separate  article  to  give  even  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  different  kinds  of  cars  which  are  now  used.  The  follow- 
ing list  could  be  increased  considerably  if  all  the  different  varieties 
were  included. 


Baggage-car, 
Boarding-car, 
Box-car, 
Buffet-car, 

Caboose    or    conduc- 
tor's car, 
Cattle-  or  stock-car, 
Coal-car, 
Derrick-car, 
Drawing-room  car. 


Drop-bottom  car. 

Dump-car, 

Express-car, 

Hat  or  platform  car, 

Gondola-car, 

Hand-car, 

Hay-car, 

Hopper-bottom  car. 

Horse-car, 

Hotel-car, 


Inspection-car, 

Lodging-car, 

Mail-car, 

Milk-car, 

Oil-car, 

Ore-car, 

Palace-car, 

Passenger-car, 

Post-office  car. 

Push-car, 


Postal-car, 

Refrigerator-car, 

Restaurant-car, 

Sleeping-car, 

Sweeping-car, 

Tank-car, 

Tip-car, 

Tool  or  wrecking  car, 

Three-wheeled     hand- 


The  following  table  gives  the  size,  weight,  and  price  of  cars  at 
the  present  time.  The  length  given  is  the  length  over  the  bodies 
not  including  the  platforms. 


Length,  feet. 

Weight,  lbs. 

Price. 

Flat-car 

34 

16,000  to  19,000 

$380 

Box-car 

34 
30  to  34 

22,000  to  27,000 
28,000  to  34,000 

$550 

$800  to  $1,100 

Refrigerator-car 

Passenger-car 

50  to  52 
50  to  65 

45,000  to  60,000 
70,000  to  80,000 

$4,400  to  $5,000 

Drawing-room  car 

$10,000  to  $20,000 

Sleeping-car 

50  to  70 
16 

60,000  to  90,000 
5,000  to    6,000 

$12,000  to  $20,000 

Street-car 

$Soo  to  $1,200 

Some  years  ago  the  master  car-builders  of  the  different  rail- 
roads experienced  great  difficulty  in  the  transaction  of  their  busi- 
ness from  the  fact  that  there  were  no  common  names  to  designate 
the  parts  of  cars  in  different  places  in  the  country.  What  was 
known  by  one  name  in  Chicago  had  quite  a  different  name  in 
Pittsburg  or  Boston.  A  committee  was  therefore  appointed  by 
the  Master  Car-Builders'  Association  to  make  a  dictionary  of  terms 


THE  CAR-BUILDER'S  DICTIONARY. 


147 


used  in  car-construction  and  repairs.  Such  a  dictionary  has  been 
prepared,  and  is  a  book  of  560  pages,  and  has  over  two  thousand 
ilkistrations.      It  has  some  pecuHar  features,  one  of  which  is  de- 


Fig.  54. — Modern  Passenger-car  and  Frame. 


scribed  as  follows  in  the  preface:  "To  supply  the  want  w^hich 
demanded  such  a  vocabulary,  Avhat  might  be  called  a  double  dic- 
tionary is  needed.  Thus,  supposing  that  a  car-builder  in  Chicago 
received  an  order  for  a  'journal-box ' ;  by  looking  in  an  alphabeti- 
cal list  of  words  he  could  readily  find  that  term  and  a  description  and 
definition  of  it.  But  suppose  that  he  wanted  to  order  such  castings 
from  the  shop  in  Albany,  and  did  not  know  their  name  ;  it  would 
be  impracticable  for  him  to  commence  at  A  and  look  through  to  Z, 
or  until  he  found  the  proper  term  to  designate  that  part."  To 
meet  this  difficulty  the  dictionary  has  very  copious  illustrations  in 
which  the  different  parts  of  cars  are  represented  and  numbered,  and 
the  names  of  the  parts  designated  by  the  numbers  are  then  given 
in  a  list  accompanying  the  engraving.  An  alphabetical  list  of 
names  and  definitions  is  also  given,  as  in  an  ordinary  dictionary. 
The  definition  usually  contains  a  reference  to  a  number  and  a  figure 
in  which  the  object  described  is  illustrated.  In  making  the  diction- 
ary the  compilers  selected  terms  from  those  in  use,  where  appro- 


148 


AMERICAN  LOCOMOTIVES  AND   CARS. 


priate  ones  could  be  found.  In  other  cases  new  names  were  de- 
vised. The  book  is  a  curious  illustration  of  a  more  rapid  growth 
of  an  art  than  of  the  language  by  which  it  is  described. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  "  Poor's  Manual  of  Rail- 
roads," gives  the  number  of  locomotives  and  of  different  kinds  of 
cars  in  this  country,  beginning  with  1876,  and  for  each  year  there- 
after. If  the  averaofe  leno-th  of  locomotives  and  tenders  is  taken  at 
50  feet,  those  now  owned  by  the  railroads  would  make  a  contin- 
uous train  280  miles  long;  and  the  1,033,368  cars,  if  they  average 
35  feet  in  length,  would  form  a  train  which  would  be  more  than 
6,800  miles  long. 

Statement  of  the  Rolling  Stock  of  Railroads  in  the  United  States ;  from 

"  Poors  Manual"  for  1889. 


Miles  of  railroad. 

Locomotives. 

Passenger-train  cars. 

1 

Freight  cars. 

Year. 

Passenger. 

Baggage,  mail, 
and  Express. 

Total. 

1876 

1877 

1878 

76,305 

79,208 

80,832 

84,393 

92,147 

103,530 

114,461 

120,552 

125,152 

■127,729 

133,606 

147,999     , 
154,276 

14,562 
15,911 
16,445 
17,084 

17.949 
20,1 16 
22,114 
23,623 
24,587 

25,937 
26,415 

27,643 
29,398 

358,101 

-jcR.ioi 

12,053 
11,683 
12,009 
12,789 
14,548 

15,551 
16,889 

17,303 
17,290 
19,252 
20,457 
21,425 

3,854 
4,413 

4,5'9 
4,786 
4,976 
5,566 
5,848 

5,911 
6,044 

6,325 
6,554 
6,827 

392,175          408,082 
423.013          439,109 
480,190          496,718 

539,255           556,930 
648,295     1      667,819 
730,451     1      751,568 
778,663          801,400 
798,399          821,613 
805,519          828,853 
845,914          871,491 
950,887          977,898 
1,005,116        T. 0^1.^68 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

The  number  of  cars,  it  will  be  seen,  has  more  than  doubled  in 
ten  years,  so  that  if  the  same  rate  of  increase  continues  for  the 
next  decade  there  will  be  over  two  millions  of  them  on  the  railroads 
of  this  country  alone.  Beyond  a  certain  point,  numbers  convey 
little  idea  of  magnitude.  Our  railroad  system  and  its  equipment 
seem  to  be  rapidly  outgrowing  the  capacity  of  the  human  imagina- 
tion to  realize  their  extent.  What  it  will  be  with  another  half-cen- 
tury of  development  it  is  impossible  even  to  imagine. 


RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT, 


By   E.  p.  ALEXANDER. 


Relations  of  Railway  Management  to  all  Other  Pursuits— Developed  by  the  Necessities  of 
a  Complex  Industrial  Life — How  a  Continuous  Life  is  Given  to  a  Corporation— Its  Ar- 
tificial Memory— Main  Divisions  of  Railway  Management — The  Executive  and  Legis- 
lative Powers — The  Purchasing  and  Supply  Departments— Importance  of  the  Legal 
Department — How  the  Roadway  is  Kept  in  Repair — The  Maintenance  of  Rolling 
Stock — Schedule-making— The  Handling  of  Extra  Trains— Duties  of  the  Train-de- 
spatcher — Accidents  in  Spite  of  Precautions — Daily  Distribution  of  Cars — How  Busi- 
ness is  Secured  and  Rates  are  Fixed — The  Interstate  Commerce  Law — The  Questions 
of  "  Long  and  Short  Hauls"  and  "Differentials  "—Classification  of  Freight— Regu- 
lation of  Passenger-rates— Work  of  Soliciting  Agents— The  Collection  of  Revenue 
and  Statistics— What  is  a  Way-bill— How  Disbursements  are  Made— The  Social 
and  Industrial  Problem  which  Confronts  Railway  Corporations. 


HE  world  was  born  again  with  the  building-  of 
the  first  locomotive  and  the  laying  of  the  first 
level  iron  roadway.  The  energies  and  activities, 
the  powers  and  possibilities  then  developed  have 
acted  and  reacted  in  every  sphere  of  life — social, 
industrial,  and  political — until  human  progress, 
after  smouldering  like  a  spark  for  a  thousand 
years,  has  burst  into  a  conflagration  which  will 
soon  leave  small  trace  of  the  life  and  customs,  or  even  the  modes  of 
thought,  which  our  fathers  knew.  But,  in  it  all,  the  railroad  remains 
the  most  potent  factor  in  every  development.  By  bringing  men 
more  and  more  closely  together,  and  supplying  them  more  and 
more  abundantly  and  cheaply  with  all  the  varied  treasures  of  the 
earth,  stored  up  for  millions  of  years  for  the  coming  of  this  gener- 
ation, it  adds  continually  more  fuel  to  the  flame  it  originated.  And 
as  it  is  necessarily  reacted  upon  equally  by  every  new  invention  or 


1 50  RAIL  WA  Y  MANA  GEMENT 

discovery,  and  by  all  progress  in  other  departments  of  human  ac- 
tivity, the  demands  upon  it,  and  its  points  of  contact  with  every- 
day life,  are  still  increasing  in  geometrical  progression. 

Hence,  in  the  practical  management  of  railroad  affairs,  prob- 
lems are  of  constant  occurrence  which  touch  almost  every  pursuit 
to  which  men  give  themselves,  whether  of  finance,  agriculture, 
commerce,  manufactures,  science,  or  politics  ;  and  the  methods, 
forms,  and  principles  under  which  current  railroad  management 
is  being  developed  (for  it  is  by  no  means  at  a  stand-still)  are 
the  result  of  the  necessities  imposed  by  these  multiplying  problems 
acting  within  the  constraints  of  corporate  existences. 

For  while  the  life  of  a  corporation  is  perpetual,  its  powers  are 
constrained,  and  the  individuals  exercising  them  are  constantly 
changing.  It  is  but  an  artificial  individual  existing  for  certain  pur- 
poses only,  and,  as  it  lacks  some  human  qualities,  all  its  methods 
of  doing  business  are  influenced  thereby.  The  business  affairs 
of  an  individual,  for  instance,  are  greatly  simplified  by  his  mem- 
ory of  his  transactions  from  day  to  day  and  from  year  to  year. 
But  a  corporation  having  no  natural  memory,  all  of  its  transactions 
and  relations  must  be  minutely  and  systematically  noted  in  its 
archives.  Every  contract  and  obligation  must  be  of  record,  all 
property  bought  or  constructed  must  go  upon  the  books,  and, 
when  expended  or  used  up,  must  go  off  in  due  form  ;  and  espe- 
cially must  an  accurate  system  of  checks  guard  all  earnings  and 
expenditures,  and  a  comprehensive  system  of  book-keeping  con- 
solidate innumerable  transactions  into  the  great  variety  of  boiled- 
down  figures  and  statistics  necessary  for  officers  and  stockholders 
to  fully  understand  what  the  property  is  doing. 

Under  such  circumstances,  then,  our  railroads  and  their  systems 
of  organization  and  management,  like  the  Darwinian  Topsy,  have 
not  "  been  made  "  but  have  "  growed." 

Naturally,  both  the  direction  and  extent  of  the  development  have 
varied  in  different  localities  and  under  different  conditions.  Within 
the  limits  of  this  article  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  anything 
like  an  exhaustive  or  complete  account  of  the  organization,  dis- 
tribution of  duties,  systems  of  working,  and  of  checks  in  the  various 
departments  of  even  a  single  road.  Most  roads  publish  more  or 
less  elaborate  small  volumes  of  regulations  on  such  subjects  for  the 


THE  DIVISION  OF  AUTHORITY.  151 

use  of  their  various  employees.  The  task  would  also  be  endless 
to  describe  technically  the  variations  of  practice  and  of  nomencla- 
ture in  different  sections  and  on  different  systems.  The  shades  of 
difference,  too,  between  managers,  superintendents,  or  masters ; 
comptrollers,  auditors,  book-keepers,  and  accountants;  secretaries, 
cashiers,  treasurers,  and  paymasters  in  different  localities  would 
be  tedious  to  draw.  A  technical  account  of  them  would  be  al- 
most a  reproduction  of  the  volumes  above-mentioned.  I  can  only 
attempt  to  outline  and  illustrate  very  briefly  the  general  principles 
which  underlie  the  present  practice,  and  are  more  or  less  elabo- 
rated as  circumstances  may  require. 

The  principal  duties  connected  with  the  management  of  a  rail- 
road may  be  classified  as  follows  : 

1.  The  physical  care  of  the  property. 

2.  The  handling  of  the  trains. 

3.  The  making  rates  and  soliciting  business. 

4.  The  collection  of  revenue  and  keeping  statistics. 

5.  The  custody  and  disbursement  of  revenue. 

The  president  is,  of  course,  the  executive  head  of  the  company, 
but  in  important  matters  he  acts  only  with  the  consent  and  ap- 
proval of  the  Board  of  Directors,  or  of  an  executive  committee 
clothed  with  authority  of  the  board,  which  may  be  called  the  legis- 
lative branch  of  the  managfement.  More  or  less  of  the  executive 
power  and  supervision  of  the  president  may  be  delegated  to  one  or 
more  vice-presidents.  Often  all  of  it  but  that  relating  to  financial 
matters  is  so  delegated,  but,  as  their  functions  are  subdivisions  of 
those  of  the  president,  they  have  no  essential  part  in  a  general 
scheme  of  authority. 

Of  the  five  subdivisions  of  duties  indicated  above,  the  first  four 
are  usually  confided  to  a  general  manager,  who  may  also  be  a  vice- 
president,  and  the  fifth  is  in  charge  of  a  treasurer,  reporting  directly 
to  the  president. 

The  special  departments  under  charge  of  the  general  manager 
are  each  officered  by  trained  experts  : 

A  superintendent  of  roadway  or  chief  engineer  has  charge  of 
the  maintenance  of  the  track,  bridges,  and  buildings. 

A  superintendent  of  machinery  has  charge  of  the  construction 
and  maintenance  of  all  rolling  stock. 


152  /?A/ZJVA  V  MANA  GEMENT. 

A  superintendent  of  transportation  makes  all  schedules,  and  has 
charge  of  all  movements  of  trains. 

A  car  accountant  keeps  record  of  the  location,  whereabout,  and 
movements  of  all  cars. 

A  traffic  manager  has  charge  of  passenger  and  freight  rates,  and 
all  advertising  and  soliciting  for  business. 

A  comptroller  has  charge  of  all  the  book-keeping  by  which  the 
revenue  of  the  company  is  collected  and  accounted  for.  All  statis- 
tics are  generally  prepared  in  his  office. 

A  paymaster  receives  money  from  the  treasurer  and  disburses, 
under  the  direction  of  the  comptroller,  for  all  expenses  of  opera- 
tion. 

All  dividend  and  interest  payments  are  made  by  the  treasurer, 
under  direction  of  the  president  and  board. 

There  are,  besides  the  above,  two  general  departments  with 
which  all  the  rest  have  to  do,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent — the  le- 
gal department  and  the  purchasing  department.  The  quantity  and 
variety  of  articles  used  and  consumed  in  the  operation  of  a  railroad 
are  so  great  that  it  is  a  measure  of  much  economy  to  concentrate 
all  purchases  into  the  hands  of  a  single  purchasing  agent,  rather 
than  to  allow  each  department  to  purchase  for  itself  This  agent 
has  nothing  to  do  but  to  study  prices  and  markets.  His  pride  is 
enlisted  in  getting  the  lowest  figures  for  his  road,  and  the  large 
amount  of  his  purchases  enables  him  to  secure  the  best  rates.  And 
last,  but  not  least,  in  matters  where  dishonesty  would  find  so  great 
opportunities,  it  is  safer  to  concentrate  responsibility  than  to  dif- 
fuse it. 

As  I  shall  not  again  refer  to  this  department,  what  remains  of 
interest  for  me  to  say  about  it  will  be  said  here.  As  an  adjunct  to 
it,  storehouses  are  established  at  central  points  in  which  stocks  of 
articles  in  ordinary  use  are  kept  on  hand.  Whenever  supplies  are 
wanted  in  any  other  department — as,  for  instance,  a  bell-cord  and 
lantern  by  a  conductor — requisitions  are  presented,  approved  by  a 
designated  superior.  These  requisitions  state  whether  the  arti- 
cles are  to  be  charged  to  legitimate  wear  and  tear,  and  if  so, 
Avhether  to  the  passenger  or  the  freight  service,  and  of  which  sub- 
division of  the  road  ;  or  whether  they  are  to  be  charged  to  the 
conductor  for  other  articles  not  properly  accounted  for.     Without 


THE   LEGAL   DEPARTMENT,  T53 

going  into  further  detail,  it  can  be  readily  seen  how  the  comptrol- 
ler's office  can,  at  the  end  of  each  month,  from  these  requisitions, 
have  a  complete  check  upon  all  persons  responsible  for  the  care  of 
property.  The  purchasing  agent,  too,  from  his  familiarity  with 
prices,  is  usually  charged  with  the  sale  of  all  condemned  and  worn- 
out  material.* 

Before  returning  to  a  more  detailed  review  of  the  operating  de- 
partments of  a  railroad,  its  legal  department  requires  a  few  words. 
Not  only  is  a  railroad  corporation,  being  itself  a  creation  of  the  law, 
peculiarly  bound  to  conform  all  its  actions  to  legal  forms  and  tenets, 
but  it  is  also  a  favorite  target  for  litigation.  The  popular  prejudice 
against  corporations,  it  may  be  said  in  passing,  is  utterly  illogical. 
The  corporation  is  the  poor  man's  opportunity.  Without  it  he 
could  never  share  in  the  gains  and  advantages  open  to  capital  in 
large  sums.  With  it  a  thousand  men,  contributing  a  thousand  dol- 
lars each,  compete  on  equal  terms  with  the  millionaire.  Its  doors 
are  always  open  to  any  who  may  wish  to  share  its  privileges  or  its 
prosperity,  and  no  man  is  denied  equal  participation  according  to 
his  means  and  inclinations.  It  is  the  greatest  "  anti-poverty  "  in- 
vention which  has  ever  been  produced,  and  the  most  democratic. 
But,  for  all  that,  instead  of  possessing  the  unbounded  power  usually 
ascribed  to  it,  no  creature  of  God  or  man  is  so  helpless  as  a  cor- 
poration before  the  so-called  great  tribunal  of  justice,  the  American 
jury.  It  may  not  be  literally  true  that  a  Texas  jury  gave  damages  to 
a  tramp  against  a  certain  railroad  because  a  section-master's  wife 
gave  him  a  meal  which  disagreed  with  him,  but  the  story  can  be 
nearly  paralleled  from  the  experience  of  many  railroads.  Hence 
settlements  outside  of  the  law  are  always  preferred  where  they  are 
at  all  possible,  and  an  essential  part  of  an  efficient  legal  organization 
is  a  suitable  man  always  ready  to  repair  promptly  to  the  scene  of 
any  loss  or  accident,  to  examine  the  circumstances  with  the  eye  of 
a  legal  expert  on  liabilities. 

But  the  management  of  claims,  and  of  loss  and  damage  suits, 
though  a  large  part,  is  by  no  means  all  of  the  legal  business  con- 
nected with  a  railroad.  Every  contract  or  agreement  should  pass 
under  scrutiny  of  counsel,  and  in  the  preparation  of  the  various 
forms   of  bonds,    mortgages,   debentures,    preferred    stocks,    etc., 

*  See  "  How  to  Feed  a  Railway,"  page  302. 


154 


RAIL  WA  V  MANA  GEMENT. 


which  the  wants  of  the  day  have  brought  forth,  the  highest  legal 
talent  finds  employment.     For,  as  development  has  multiplied  the 
types    of   cars 
and  engines  to 
meet   special 
wants,  so  have 
a  great  variety 
o  f     securities 
been    develop- 
ed to  meet  the     ^-^^^ 
taste  and  prej-      S 


^&S 


udices  of  investors  of  all  na- 
tions. There  is,  in  fact,  a  cer- 
tain fashion  in  the  forms  of 
bonds,  and  the  conditions  in- 
corporated in  mortgages, 
which  has  to  be  observed  to 
adapt  any  bond  to  its  proposed 
market. 

We  shall  now  return  to  the 
operating  departments  under 
their  respective  heads,  and 
glance  briefly  at  the  methods 
and  detail  pursued  in  each. 
On  roads  of  large  mileage  the  general  manager  is  assisted  by  gen- 
eral or  division  superintendents  in  charge  of  roadway,  motive 
power,  and  trains  of  one  or  more  separate  divisions  ;  but  for  our 
purposes  we  may  consider  the  different  departments  without  ref- 
erence to  these  superintendents. 

The  superintendent  of  roadway  or  chief  engineer  comes  first, 
having  charge  of  track,  bridges,  and  buildings.  In  his  office  are 
collected  maps  of  all  important  stations  and  junction  points,  kept 
up  to  date  with  changes  and  additions ;  scale  drawings  of  all 
bridges  and  trestles,  of  all  standard  depots,  tanks,  switches,  rails, 


FEATS   OF  BRIDGE    GANGS. 


155 


fastenings,  signals,  and  everything  necessary  to  secure  uniformity 
of  patterns  and  practice  over  the  entire  road.  Under  him  are 
supervisors  of  bridges  and  supervisors  of  road,  each  assigned  to  a 
certain  territory.  The  supervisors  of  bridges  make  frequent  and 
minute  examinations  of  every  piece  or  member  of  every  bridge  and 
trestle,  report  in  advance  all  the  repairs  that  become  necessary, 
and  make  requisition  for  the  material  needed. 


A  Type  of  Snow-plough. 


Under  the  bridge  supervisor  are  organized  "  bridge  gangs," 
each  consisting  of  a  competent  foreman  with  carpenters  and  labor- 
ers skilled  in  bridge  work  and  living  in  "house  "  or  "  boarding" 
cars,  and  provided  with  pile-drivers,  derricks,  and  all  appliances 
for  handling  heavy  timbers  and  erecting,  tearing  down,  and  repair- 
ing bridges.  These  cars  form  a  movable  camp,  going  from  place 
to  place  as  needed,  and  being  side-tracked  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  work  of  the  gang.  Long  experience  begets  great  skill  in  their 
special  duties,  and  the  feats  which  these  gangs  will  perform  are 
often  more  wonderful  than  many  of  the  more  showy  performances 
of  railroad  engineering.  It  is  an  every-day  thing  with  such  gangs 
to  take  down  an  old  wooden  structure,  and  erect  in  its  place  an 
iron  one,  perhaps  with  the  track  raised  several  feet  above  the  level 


156 


HAIL  WAY  MANAGEMENT. 


of  the  original,  while  fifty  trains  pass  every  day,  not  one  of  which 
will  be  delayed  for  a  moment. 

Each  of  the  supervisors  of  road  has  his  assigned  territory  divid- 
ed into  "  sections,"  from 


five    to    eig^ht  miles    in 


A  Rotary  Steam  Snow-shovel  in  Operation. 
(From  an  instantaneous  photograph.) 


length.  At  a  suitable  place  on  each  section  are  erected  houses 
for  a  resident  section-master  and  from  six  to  twelve  hands.  These 
are  provided  with  hand-  and  push-cars,  and  spend  their  whole 
time  in  keeping  their  sections  in  good  condition.  Upon  many 
roads  annual  inspections  are  made  and  prizes  offered  for  the  best 
sections.  At  least  twice  a  day  track-walkers  from  the  section- 
gangs  pass  over  the  entire  line  of  road.  To  simplify  reports  and 
instructions,  frequently  every  bridge  or  opening  in  the  track  is 
numbered,  and  the  number  displayed  upon  it ;  and  every  curve  is 
also  posted  with  its  degree  of  curvature  and  the  proper  elevation 
to  be  given  to  the  outer  rail. 

The  work  of  the  section-men  is  all  done  under  regular  system. 
In  the  spring  construction-trains  deliver  and  distribute  ties  and 
rails  on  each  section,  upon  requisitions  from  supervisors.  Then 
the  section-force  goes  over  its  line  from  end  to  end,  putting  in  first 


WORK  OF  SECTION-MEN. 


157 


the  new  ties  and  then  the  new  rails  needed.  Next  the  track  is 
gone  over  with  minute  care  and  re-lined,  re-surfaced,  and  re-bal- 
lasted, to  repair  the  damages  of  frost  and  wet,  the  great  enemies 
of  a  road-bed.  Then  ditches,  grass,  and  the  right-of-way  have  at- 
tention. These  processes  are  continually  repeated,  and  especially 
in  the  fall  in  preparation  for  winter.  During  the  winter  as  little 
disturbance  of  track  is  made  as  possible,  but  ditches  are  kept 
clean,  and  low  joints  are  raised  by  "  shims  "  on  top  of  joint  ties.  Es- 
sential parts  of  the  equipment  of  any  large  road  are  snow-ploughs 
(pp.  154-5-6)  and  wrecking  cars,  with  powerful  derricks  and 
other  appliances  for  clearing  obstructions.  When  wrecks  or  block- 
ades occur  these  cars,  with  extra  engines,  section-hands,  bridge 
gangs,  and  construction-trains,  are  rushed  to  the  spot,  and  every- 
thing yields  to  the 
work  of  getting  the 
road  clear. 

We  come  next 
to  the  superinten- 
dent of  machinery, 
whose  duty  it  is  to 
provide  and  main- 
t  a  i  n  locomotives 
and  cars  of  all 
kinds  to  handle  the 
company's  traffic. 
His  department  is 
subdivided  be- 
tween a  master  me- 
chanic, in  chargre  of 
locomotives  and 
machine  -shops, 
and  a  master  car- 
builder,  in  charge 
of  car-shops. 

The    master 

mechanic  selects  and  immediately  controls  all  engine-runners  and 
firemen,  and  keeps  performance  sheets  of  all  locomotives,  showing 
miles   run,  cars   hauled,  wages   paid,  coal  and  oil  consumed,  and 


Railway-crossing   Gate. 


158 


RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


other  details  giving  results  accomplished  by  different  runners  and 
firemen,  and  by  different  types  of  engine,  or  on  different  divisions 

Report  of  Performance  of  Engines,  Repairs,  and  all  other  Costs 


Miles  Ron. 

Fuel. 

Oil,  Waste  and  Otheb  Stores. 

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Gallons  Keros 
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12,961 

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171  85 
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32,370 
19,807 

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1,042  26 
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41.345 
37.450 

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17,956 

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8,875 

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17,869 

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182.556 

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846 

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22,603  45 

or  roads.  Premiums  are  often  paid  the  runners  and  firemen  ac- 
complishing the  best  results. 

The  master  car-builder  has  charge  of  the  shops  where  cars  are 
built  and  repaired,  and  of  the  car-inspectors  who  are  stationed  at 
central  and  junction  points  to  prevent  defective  cars  being  put  into 
the  trains. 

Formerly  each  railroad  used  its  own  cars  exclusively,  and 
through  freights  were  transferred  at  every  junction  point.  This  in- 
volved such  delay  and  expense  that  railroads  now  generally  per- 
mit all  loaded  cars  to  go  through  to  destination  without  transfer, 
and  allow  each  other  a  certain  sum  for  the  use  of  cars.  Usually 
this  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  cent  for  each  mile  which  the  car 
travels  on  a  foreign  road.  This  involves  a  great  scattering  of  cars, 
and  an  extensive  organization  to  keep  record  of  their  whereabouts 
and  of  the  accounts  between  the  companies  for  mileage.*  This  or- 
ganization will  be  referred  to  more  fully  in  connection  with  the  de- 
partment of  transportation.     But  the  joint  use  of  each  other's  cars 

*  See  '•  The  Freight-car  Service,"  page  275. 


COND  UCTING    TRANSPOR  TA  TION. 


159 


makes  it  necessary  that  there  should  be  at  least  enough  similarity 
in  their  construction  and  their  coupling  appliances  to  permit  their 


Incident  thereto,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30///,  1888. 


Co5;t  of  Repa 

I  as 

0. 

M'ls  run  to  one 

Cost  pkb  Mile  Run  Fon. 

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144  79 

3,112  81 

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304  08 

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127  2  32  8 

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05  23 

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139,422 

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202  00 

240  55 

114  98 

355  53 

3,066  50    2  5 

128  2412 

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04  06 

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04  96 

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172  35 

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236  00 

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110  75 

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217  44 

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305,024 

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139  80 

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316  28 

3.918  02    1   4 

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00  40 

06  70 

00  82 

10   10 

383, 0«2 

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205  00 

207  55 

109  7s 

317  33 

4,041   93    1   5 

105.4:46  5 

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15  59 

409,035 

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413  95 
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05   111  00  59 

06,834 

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212  50 

144  50 

77  52 

222  02 

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00  53    04  40 

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432  86 

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4,703  66 

2  2 

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02  87    04  58 

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04   15 

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12  54 

202,28931 

172  00 

1,729  7(1 

438  40 

2,168  10 

4,752  00 

16 

129  5  31   2 

12  11    06  25 

00  60 

06  64 

00  96 

26.56 

184,083:32 

137  00 

1,522  10 

781  64 

2.303  74 

4,313  48 

3  2 

108,535  5 

11.41    03  48 

00  54 

(.■5  29 

00.67 

21  39 

I(17,0CU34 

2,121  00 

6,036  45 

2.723  13 

8,759  58 

54,075  96 

2  5I  148  1I38.5 

02  31    04.98 

00  48 

05  97 

00  55 

14.29 

2,722,0271 

indiscriminate  use  upon  all  roads.  And  conventions  of  master  car- 
builders  have  recommended  certain  forms  and  dimensions  as  stand- 
ards, which  are  now  in  general  use. 

There  is  much  convenience  in  this,  but  one  disadvantage.  It 
requires  almost  unanimous  action  to  introduce  any  change  of  form 
or  of  construction,  however  advantageous  it  may  be.  And  to  se- 
cure unanimous  action  in  such  matters  is  almost  as  hard  as  it  would 
be  to  secure  unanimity  in  a  change  in  the  spelling  of  English  words. 
Still  there  is  progress,  though  slow,  toward  several  desirable  re- 
forms, the  most  important  of  which  is  the  adoption  of  a  standard 
automatic  coupler  (see  p.  142). 

Having  shown  how  the  property  of  all  kinds  is  kept  in  efficient 
condition,  we  next  come  to  its  operation.  This  is  called  "  con- 
ducting transportation,"  and  the  officer  in  charge  is  usually  called 
the  superintendent  of  transportation.  All  train-despatchers,  con- 
ductors, train-men,  and  telegraph  operators  are  under  his  immedi- 
ate control.  He  makes  all  schedules  and  provides  all  extra  and 
irregular  service  that  the  traffic  department  makes  requisition  for, 


l6o  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

himself  calling  upon  the  superintendent  of  machinery  for  the  nec- 
essary locomotives,  switching-  engines,  and  cars.  It  is  his  especial 
province  to  handle  all  trains  as  swiftly  as  possible,  and  to  see  that 
there  are  no  collisions.  It  is  impossible  to  detail  fully  the  safe- 
guards and  precautions  used  to  this  end,  but  the  general  principles 
observed  are  as  follows : 

First,  a  general  time-table  or  schedule  is  carefully  made  out  for 
all  regular  trains  upon  each  division,  showing  on  one  sheet  the 
time  of  each  train  at  each  station. 

This  schedule  is  all  that  is  needed  so  long  as  all  trains  are  able 
to  keep  on  time,  and  there  are  no  extras.  Trouble  begins  when 
regular  trains  cannot  keep  on  schedule,  or  when  extra  trains  have 
to  be  sent  out,  not  provided  for  on  the  schedule.  A  diagram, 
or  graphic  representation  of  this  schedule,  upon  a  board  or  large 
sheet  of  paper,  is  an  important  feature  of  the  office  regulating 
train-movements.  Twenty-four  vertical  lines  divide  the  board  into 
equal  spaces  representing  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day,  num- 
bered from  midnight  to  midnight.  Horizontal  lines  at  proportion- 
ate distances  from  the  top  represent  the  stations  in  their  order  be- 
tween the  termini,  represented  by  the  top  and  bottom  lines  of  the 
diagram.  The  course  of  every  train  can  now  be  plotted  on  this 
diagram  in  an  oblique  line  joining  the  points  on  each  station  line 
corresponding  to  the  time  the  train  arrives  at  and  leaves  that  sta- 
tion. The  cut  on  the  opposite  page  will  illustrate.  It  represents  a 
road  130  miles  long  from  A  to  N,  with  intermediate  stations  B,  C, 
D,  etc.,  at  different  distances  from  each  other,  and  six  trains  are 
shown  as  follows  : 

A  passenger  train,  No.  i,  leaving  A  at  12  midnight  and  arriv- 
ing at  N  at  4.05  A.M.  A  fast  express.  No.  2,  leaving  N  at  12.45 
and  arriving  at  A  at  3.30.  A  local  passenger  train,  No.  4,  which 
leaves  N  at  1.15,  runs  to  E  by  4  a.m.,  stops  there  until  4.10,  and 
returns  to  N  by  7  a.m.  ;  being  called  No.  3  on  the  return,  as  the 
direction  is  always  indicated  by  the  train-number's  being  odd  or 
even.  No.  5  is  a  way  freight,  leaving  A  at  12.05  ^^^  making  long 
stops  at  each  station.  No.  6  is  an  opposing  train  of  the  same 
character. 

The  diagram  shows  at  a  glance  how,  when,  and  where  all  these 
trains  meet  and  pass  each  other,  and  where  every  train  is  at  any 


DIAGRAM  FOR   A    TIME-TABLE. 


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l62 


RAIL  WA  Y  MANA  GEMENT. 


A  lamp  swung  across  the  track  is  the  signal  to  stop. 

to  let  it  pass.  If  the  road  is 
double-tracked,  only  trains  going 
in  the  same  direction  need  be 
regarded.* 

But  the  more  usual  way  of 
handling  extra  trains,  when  cir- 
cumstances will  permit,  is  to  let 
them  precede  or  follow  a  regular 
train  upon  the  same  schedule. 
The  train  is  then  said  to  be  run 
in  "  sections,"  and  a  ten  minutes' 
interval  is  allowed  between  them. 
That  opposing  trains  may  be  in- 
formed, the  leading  section  (and 

*  Of  course,  this  "stringing"  of  an  extra  train 
is  not  always  done  in  actual  operation.  Practice 
and  experience  will  give  as  wonderful  expertness 
to  a  train-despatcher  in  handling  trains  "in  his 
head  "  as  to  a  mathematician  in  solving  problems, 
and  often  all  trains  on  a  road  will  be  handled  en- 
tirely "  by  order,"  or  as  extras.  But  the  example 
given  illustrates  the  principle  upon  which  expert 
practice  is  based. 


moment.  Should  it  be  desired  to 
send  an  extra  train  at  any  time, 
a  line  drawn  or  a  string  stretched 
on  the  board  will  indicate  what 
opposing  trains  must  be  guarded 
against.  For  instance,  to  send 
an  extra  through  in  three  hours, 
leaving  A  between  i  and  2  a.m., 
a  trial  line  will  show  that  Nos.  5, 
2,  4,  and  6  must  all  be  met  or 
passed,  and  as  (on  a  single-track 
road)  this  can  only  be  done  at 
stations,  the  extra  must  leave  at 
1.35  A.M.,  pass  No.  5  at  E,  meet 
No.  2  at  F,  No.  4  at  I,  and  No. 
6  at  J.  A  dotted  line  on  the  dia- 
gram indicates  its  run,  and  that 
No.  2  is  held  at  F  for  5  minutes 


A  lamp  raised  and  lowered  vertically  is  the  signal  to 
move  ahead. 


IMPORTANT  RULES  IN  RUNNING    TRAINS. 


163 


when  there  are  more  than  two 
all  but  the  last)  wears  on  its  lo- 
comotive two  green  flags  by  day 
and  two  green  lights  by  night, 
indicating  that  a  train  follows 
which  is  to  be  considered  as  a 
part  of  the  train  leading,  and 
having  the  same  rights. 

So  far  the  rules  are  very  sim- 
ple, and  they  would  be  all  that  is 
necessary  if  all  trains  could  al- 
ways be  kept  exactly  on  time. 
But  as  that  cannot  be,  provision 
must  be  made  for  all  the  compli- 
cations which  will  result.  The 
first  and  most  important  rule  is 
that  no  train  must  ever,  under 
any  circumstances,  run  ahead  oi 


A  lamp  swung  vertically  in  a  circle  across  the  track,  when 
the  train  is  standing,  is  the  signal  to  nfiove  back. 


time.  The  next  is  that  any  train 
making  a  stop  not  on  its  schedule 
must  immediately  send  out  flag- 
men with  red  flags,  lights,  and 
torpedoes  to  protect  it.  This 
rule  is  a  very  difficult  one  to  en- 
force without  rigid  discipline,  and 
its  neglect  is  the  cause  of  a  large 
percentage  of  the  accidents  "  that 
will  happen."  The  flagman  who 
must  go  to  the  rear,  often  a  half- 
mile,  at  night,  across  trestles  and 
in  storms,  must  frequently  be  left 
behind,  to  take  his  chances  of 
getting  home  by  being  picked 
up  by  a  following  train.  There 
is  no  one  to  watch  him,  and  he 
will  often  take  chances,  and  not 


A  lamp  swung  vertically  in  a  circle  at  arm's  length  across 
the  track,  when  tne  train  is  running,  is  the  signal  that 
the  train   has  parted. 


1 64  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

go  as  far  back  or  as  fast  as  he  should ;  and  if  all  goes  well  no  one 
is  ever  the  wiser. 

Now,  when  a  train  is  prevented  from  arriving  on  time  at  its 
meeting-point,  we  must  have  some  rules  by  which  the  opposing 
train  may  proceed,  or  all  business  on  the  road  would  be  suspended 
by  the  delay  of  a  single  train.  Only  the  general  principles  of  these 
rules  can  be  stated  within  limits.     They  are  as  follows : 

1.  All  freight  trains  must  wait  indefinitely  for  all  passenger 
trains. 

2.  When  one  train  only  is  behind  time,  the  opposing  train 
of  the  same  class  will  wait  for  it  a  specified  time,  usually  ten 
minutes,  and  five  minutes  more  for  possible  variation  of  watches, 
then  go  ahead,  keeping  fifteen  minutes  behind  its  schedule. 

3.  But  should  such  a  train,  running  on  delayed  time,  lose 
more  time,  or  in  any  other  way  should  both  trains  get  behind  time, 
then  the  one  which  is  bound  in  a  certain  direction — ^for  instance, 
north — has  the  right  to  the  track,  and  the  other  must  lie  by  indefi- 
nitely. 

These  principles,  duly  observed,  will  prevent  collisions,  but  they 
will  often  cause  trains  to  lose  a  great  deal  of  time.  The  train-de- 
spatcher,  therefore,  has  authority  to  handle  extra  and  delayed 
trains  by  direct  telegraphic  order.  Every  possible  precaution  is 
taken  to  insure  that  such  orders  are  received  and  correctly  under- 
stood. As  there  are  great  advantages  following  uniformity  of 
usages  and  rules  among  connecting  roads,  after  years  of  conference, 
in  conventions  and  by  committees,  approved  forms  of  all  running 
rules  and  signals  have  recently  been  adopted  and  are  now  in  very 
general  use  over  the  United  States.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  possible 
precautions,  accidents  will  sometimes  happen.  Richard  Grant 
White  gave  a  name  to  a  mental  habit  which,  in  train -despatch- 
ers,  has  caused  many  fatal  accidents.  It  is  "heterophemy,"  or 
thinking  one  thing  while  saying,  hearing,  or  reading  another.  A 
case  within  my  knowledge,  which  cost  a  dozen  lives,  was  as  fol- 
lows :  Two  opposing  trains  were  out  of  time,  and  the  train-de- 
spatcher  wished  to  have  them  meet  and  pass  at  a  certain  station 
we  will  call  "  I,"  as  Nos.  i  and  2  are  represented  as  doing  on  the 
diagram  (see  diagram  of  schedule  board,  p.  161).  So  he  tele- 
graphed the  following  message,  to  be  delivered  to  No.  i  at  "H" 


The  General  Despatcher. 


A    CURIOUS  ACCIDENT. 


167 


and  to  No.  2  at  "  J  "  :  "  Nos.  i  and  2  will  meet  at '  I.'"  This  mes- 
sage was  correctly  received  at  "  J  "  and  delivered  to  No.  2.  But  at 
"  H  "  the  operator  had  just  sold  a  passenger  a  ticket  to  "  K,"  and, 


Entrance  Gates  at  a  Large  Station. 

getting  this  name  in  his  head,  he  wrote  out  the  message :  "  Nos.  i 
and  2  will  meet  at  '  K.'  "  But  the  mistake  was  not  yet  past  cor- 
rection. The  operator  had  to  repeat  the  message  back  to  the  de- 
spatcher,  that  the  latter  might  be  sure  it  was  correctly  understood. 
He  repeated  it  as  he  had  written  it — "  K."  But  the  despatcher 
was  also  "  heterophemous."  He  saw  "K,"but  he  thought  "I," 
and  replied  to  the  operator  that  the  message  was  O.  K. 

So  it  was  delivered  to  No.  i,  and  that  train  left  "H"  at  full 
speed,  expecting  to  run  thirty-five  miles  to  "  K  "  before  meeting 
No.  2.  There  was  no  telegraph  office  at  "  I,"  and  there  were  no 
passengers  to  get  off  or  on,  and  it  passed  there  without  stopping, 
and  three  miles  below  ran  into  No.  2  on  a  curve. 

By  one  of  those  strange  impulses  which  seem  to  come  from 
some  unconscious  cerebration,  the  train-despatcher  meanwhile  had 
a  feeling  that  something  was  wrong,  and  looked  again  at  the  mes- 
saofe  received  from  "  H  "  and  discovered  his  mistake.  But  the 
trains  were  then  out  of  reach.  He  still  hoped  that  No.  2  might  ar- 
rive at  "  I  "  first,  or  that  they  might  meet  upon  a  straight  portion 
of  road,  and  as  the  time  passed  he  waited  at  the  instrument  in  a 
state  of  suspense  which  may  be  imxagined.  When  the  news  came 
he  left  the  office,  and  never  returned. 

Double  tracks  make  accidents  of  this  character  impossible;  but 
introduce  a  new  possibility,  that  a  derailment  from  any  cause  upon 


i68 


RAIL  WA  V  MAN  A  GEMENT. 


Central   Switch   and   Signal   Tower. 


one  track  may  obstruct  th( 
other  track  so  closely  ahead 
of  an   opposing  train   that 
no  warning  can  be  given. 

Where    trains    become 
very   numerous    additional 
safeguards  are  added  by  multiplying  telegraph  stations  at  short  in- 
tervals, and  giving  them  conspicuous  signals  of  semaphore  arms  and 
lanterns,  until  finally  the  road  is  divided  into  a  number  of  so-called 
"  blocks  "  of  a  few  miles  each ;  and  no  train  is  permitted  to  enter 
any  block  until  the  train  preceding  has  passed  out.     And  in  the 
approaches  to  some  of  our  great  depots,  where  trains  and  tracks  are 
multiplied  and  confused  with  cross-overs  and  switching  service,  all 
switches  are  set  and  all  movements  controlled  by  signals  from  a  sin- 
gle central  tower.      Sometimes,  by  very  expensive  and  complicated 
apparatus,  it  is  made  mechanically  impossible  to  open  a  track  for  the 
movement  of  a  train  without  previously  locking  all  openings  by  which 
another  train  might  interfere.     The  illustrations  on  pages  169,  171, 
and  above  will  serve  to  give  some  general  idea  of  these  appliances.* 

*  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  204. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  CARS. 


171 


There  remains  one  other  branch  of  the  duties  of  the  master  of 
transportation — the  proper  daily  distribution  of  cars  to  every  sta- 
tion according  to  its  needs,  and  the  keeping  record  of  their  where- 


\       N    \^ 


> 


'V;iH/ 


Interior  of  a   Switch-tower,  showing  the  Operation   of  Interlocking  Switches. 

abouts.  And  now  that  the  gauges  of  all  roads  are  similar,  and 
competition  enforces  through  shipments,  roads  are  practically  mak- 
ing common  property  of  each  other's  cars,  and  the  detail  and 
trouble  of  keeping  record  of  them  become  enormous. 

The  records  are  made  up  from  daily  reports,  by  every  conduc- 
tor, of  every  car,  home  or  foreign,  handled  in  his  train,  and  from 
every  station-agent  of  all  cars  in  his  yard  at  certain  hours.  From 
these  returns  the  car  accountant  reports  to  their  respective  owners 
all  movements  of  foreign  cars  and  gives  the  transportation  depart- 
ment information  where  cars  are  lying.  The  honesty  of  each 
other's  reports  concerning  car  movements  is  generally  relied  upon 


1 7  2  RAIL  WA  V  MAN  A  GEMENT. 

by  railroads,  but  "lost  car  agents  "  are  kept  travelling  to  hunt  up 
estrays,  and  to  watch  how  the  cars  of  their  roads  are  being  handled. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  a  great  step  in  advance  would  be  to 
have  all  the  roads  in  the  United  States  unite  and  put  all  cars 
into  a  common  stock  and  let  them  be  distributed,  record  kept  of 
movements,  and  mileage  paid  through  a  general  clearing  house. 
This  would  practically  form  a  single  rolling-stock  company  owned 
by  the  roads  contributing  their  cars  to  it.  It  could  gradually  in- 
troduce uniform  patterns  of  construction,  improved  couplers,  and 
air-brakes,  and  could  concentrate  cars  in  different  sections  of  the 
country  in  large  numbers  as  different  crops  required  movement, 
thus  avoiding  the  blockades  which  often  occur  in  one  section  while 
cars  are  superabundant  in  another.  Consolidations  usually  render 
more  efficient  and  cheaper  service  than  separate  organizations  can- 
do,  and  this  may  come  about  in  the  course  of  time.* 

We  have  now  seen  how  the  road  is  maintained  and  its  trains 
safely  handled.  The  next  step  in  order  is  to  see  how  business  is 
secured  and  the  rates  to  be  charged  are  fixed.  This  department 
may  be  controlled  by  a  traffic  manager,  with  two  assistants — the 
general  freight  agent  and  the  general  passenger  agent — or  the  offi- 
cers may  report  directly  to  the  general  manager  without  the  inter- 
vention of  a  traffic  manager.  But  it  would  be  a  more  accurate  ex- 
pression to  say,  not  that  these  officers  "fix"  the  rates,  for  if  they 
did  few  railroads  Avould  ever  fail,  but  that  they  accept  and  announce 
the  rates  that  are  fixed  by  conditions  of  competition  between  differ- 
ent markets  and  products,  and  between  different  railroads  and  water 
lines.  Among  these  complex  forces  a  railroad  freight  agent  is 
nearly  as  powerless  to  regulate  rates  as  a  professor  of  grammar  is 
to  regulate  the  irregularities  of  English  verbs.  He  can  accept  them 
and  use  them,  or  he  may  let  them  alone,  but  the  irregularities  will 
remain,  all  the  same.  There  is  no  eccentricity,  for  example,  more 
idiotic  or  indefensible  to  the  ordinary  citizen  than  a  habit  railroads 
have  of  sometimes  charging  less  money  for  a  long  haul  than  they 
charge  for  a  shorter  haul.  Yet  I  believe  there  is  not  a  railroad 
line  in  the  United  States  which  will  not  be  found  guilty  of  this  ap- 
parent folly  of  charging  "less  for  the  long  haul  "  if  its  rates  to  dis- 
tant points  are  followed  far  enough.     For  if  followed  far  enough  we 

*  See  "  The  Freight-car  Service,"  page  288. 


EFFECT  OF   THE  INTERSTATE   COMMERCE   LAW.  1 73 

shall  come  to  the  ocean,  and  find  the  railroad  accepting  business 
between  two  seaports.  For  instance,  all  railroads  running  west- 
ward fi'om  New  York  through  some  of  their  connections  finally 
reach  San  Francisco,  and  compete  iox  fi'eight  between  these  ports. 
But  the  rates  they  are  able  to  obtain  are  limited  by  steamers  using 
the  ocean  for  a  highway,  and  sailing  vessels  using  the  wind  for 
motive  power,  and  able  to  carry  heavy  freights  at  one-tenth  the 
averaofe  cost  to  railroads  across  mountains  and  deserts.  This 
average  cost  must  fix  the  average  rates  charged  by  the  railroads 
to  intermediate  points,  such  as  to  Ogden,  in  Utah.  So  the  railroad 
must  either  charge  less  for  the  long  haul  to  San  Francisco,  or  leave 
that  business  to  be  done  solely  by  water.  Yet  it  may  be  profitable 
to  the  railroad  to  accept  the  business  at  such  rates  as  it  can  obtain ; 
for,  as  in  all  business  ventures,  manufacturing  or  mercantile,  new 
business  can  be  profitably  added  at  less  than  the  average  cost. 
And  if  profitable  to  the  railroad  its  tendency  is  beneficial,  even  to 
the  intermediate  points  which  pay  higher  rates,  as  promoting  better 
service,  besides  being  advantageous  to  the  whole  Pacific  Coast  in 
tending  to  keep  down  the  rates-  by  water. 

But  it  would  lead  too  far  from  our  subject  to  follow  this  and 
several  other  questions  which  are  suggested  by  it.  Only  it  may 
be  said  briefly  that  the  original  Interstate  Commerce  Bill,  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Reagan,  absolutely  prohibited  "less  for  the  long 
haul."  The  Senate  amended  by  adding  "  under  similar  circum- 
stances and  conditions,"  and  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
has  held  that  "water  competition"  makes  dissimilar  circumstances 
and  thus  legalizes  it. 

And  in  this  connection  it  may  be  added  that  the  other  Senate 
amendment  to  the  Reagan  bill,  creating  an  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission,  was,  next  to  the  above  amendment,  the  wisest  meas- 
ure of  the  bill.  It  forms  a  body  of  experts  whose  opinions  and 
decisions  must  gradually  educate  the  public,  on  the  one  hand,  to  a 
better  understanding  of  transportation  problems,  and  restrain  the 
railroads,  on  the  other,  from  many  of  the  abuses  incident  to  un- 
checked competition  among  them.  For,  however  theorists  may 
differ  as  to  the  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  competition  in  manu- 
factures and  commerce,  either  absolutely  unchecked  or  checked 
only  by  high  or  low  tariffs,  I  think  all  will  agree  that  unchecked 


174  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

railroad  competition  is  a  great  evil,  because  it  results  in  fluctuating 
rates  and  private  rebates  to  large  shippers.  The  rebates,  to  be 
sure,  are  forbidden  by  law,  but  they  can  be  disguised  past  recog- 
nition. I  have  known  a  case,  for  instance,  where  a  receipt  was 
given  for  75  barrels  of  whiskey,  when  only  jT)  were  shipped.  The 
shipper  was  to  make  claim  for  two  barrels  lost  and  be  paid  an  agreed 
value  as  a  rebate  on  his  freight  bill.  In  another  case,  a  road 
agreed  with  a  certain  shipper  to  pay  his  telegraph  bills  for  .a  certain 
period  in  order  to  control  his  shipments.  Understating  the  weight 
or  class  of  the  shipment  is  another  common  device  for  undercharg- 
inof  or  rebatinof. 

In  nearly  every  foreign  country  there  is  either  a  railroad  pool 
or  a  division  of  territory,  to  prevent  this  sort  of  competition,  which 
is  only  pernicious.  A  merchant  needs  to  feel  assured  that  rates 
are  stable  and  uniform  to  all,  and  not  that  he  must  go  shopping  for 
secret  rates,  in  order  to  be  on  an  equality  with  his  competitor. 
In  the  United  States  the  railroads  had  largely  resorted  to  pools 
before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law  forbade  them.  The  result 
of  this  prohibition  has  generally  been  very  advantageous  to  the 
best  lines,  which,  under  the  pool,  really  paid  a  sort  of  blackmail  to 
the  poorer  lines  to  maintain  rates.  If  the  penalties  of  the  law  can 
restrain  such  lines  from  rebating  and  under-billing,  to  be  rid  of  the 
pool  will  be  a  great  blessing  to  the  well-located  roads.  If  not, 
then  the  roads  will  be  driven  into  consolidation,  for  the  end  of 
fighting  will  be  bankruptcy  and  sale.  Fortunately  consolidation 
has  already  gone  so  far  in  many  sections  of  the  country  that  the 
difficulties  of  abolishing  rebates  have  been  greatly  reduced.  And 
as  far  as  it  has  gone  it  has  proved  of  much  advantage  both  to  the 
public  and  to  the  stockholders. 

Fortunately,  too,  the  other  results  attendant  upon  consolidation 
have  been  sufficiently  demonstrated  to  remove  any  intelligent  fear 
of  extortion  in  rates  or  deterioration  of  service.  Who  would  to- 
day desire  to  undo  the  consolidations  which  have  built  up  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  or  the  New  York  Central,  and  call  back  to 
life  the  numberless  small  companies  which  preceded  them  ?  •  The 
country  has  outgrown  such  service  as  they  could  render,  and  the 
local  growth  and  development  along  the  lines  of  these  consolidated 
companies  certainly  indicates  improved  conditions.     In  this  con- 


MILLING   IN  TRANSIT.  1 75 

nection,  too,  the  improvement  in  cost  and  character  of  service  is 
instructive.  In  1865  the  average  rate  per  ton  per  mile  on  the  prin- 
cipal Eastern  lines  was  about  2.900  cents  ;  in  1887  it  was  0.718 
for  a  service  twice  as  speedy  and  efficient. 

There  are  many  other  live  issues  of  great  interest  and  impor- 
tance in  transportation  suggested  by  this  subject,  such  as  "  re-bill- 
ing "  or  "milling  in  transit,"  and  "  differentials,"  but  space  forbids 
more  than  an  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  these  two  especially 
prominent  ones. 

ABC 


Let  A  B  and  B  C  be  two  railroads  connecting  at  B.  Let  the 
local  rates  A  to  B  be  10  cents  per  100  lbs.  on  grain,  and  B  to  C 
also  10  cents.  Let  the  through  rate  A  to  C  be  18,  since  longest 
hauls  are  usually  cheapest  per  mile.  Let  A  be  a  large  grain  mar- 
ket, such  as  Chicago.  Now  a  merchant  at  C  can  save  2  cents  per 
100  lbs.  by  buying  direct  from  A  instead  of  buying  from  a  mer- 
chant at  B.  For  the  grain  will  pay  less  for  the  single  long  haul 
than  for  the  two  short  hauls.  But  perhaps  the  town  of  B  has  for 
many  years  enjoyed  the  trade  of  C,  and  there  are  large  mills  and 
warehouses  erected  there.  B  will  then  say  it  is  "  discriminated 
against,"  and  will  demand  the  privilege  of  "re-billing"  or  "mill- 
ing in  transit."  That  is  to  say,  when  a  merchant  or  miller  at  B 
ships  to  C  grain,  or  flour  made  of  grain,  which  he  received  from  A, 
the  two  roads  consent  to  make  a  new  way-bill  and  treat  the  ship- 
ment as  a  through  shipment  from  A  to  C.  The  road  B  C  charges 
but  8  cents,  and  the  road  A  B  gives  B  C  one  cent  from  the  10  it 
originally  collected.  This  involves  much  trouble  and  a  loss  of  rev- 
enue to  the  roads,  and  is,  apparently,  a  discrimination  against  the 
home  products  of  B,  but  roads  frequently  do  it  where  there  is  com- 
petition at  C  by  rival  lines,  and  also  at  local  points  along  their  lines 
to  build  up  mills,  distilleries,  and  factories  of  all  kinds  in  competi- 
tion with  those  located  elsewhere.  As  yet  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  has  not  pronounced  upon  this  practice. 

The  question  of  differentials  is  as  follows :  Suppose  there  are 
three  lines,  B,  D,  and  E,  between  the  cities  A  and  C  (Diagram, 
page  176).    B,  being  the  shortest,  will  get  most  of  the  business  when 


176  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

rates  are  the  same  (10  cents,  for  instance)  by  each  line.     But  D 
and  E  insist  upon  participating,  so  they  demand  that  B  shall  allow 

them  to  operate  lower  or  "  dif- 
ferential "  rates — that  is,  B  must 
maintain  his  rate  at  10  while  al- 
lowing D  to  charge  only  8  and 
E  6  cents,  on  account  of  their 
disadvantages.  So  that  a  differential  is  practically  a  premium 
offered  for  business  by  an  inferior  line. 

The  foregoing  will  illustrate  how  the  rivalry  of  railroads  with 
each  other  complicates  the  making  of  rates.  But  even  more  diffi- 
cult to  manage  is  the  rivalry  of  markets,  and  of  products,  and  of 
new  methods  which  threaten  property  invested  in  old  methods  ;  as, 
for  instance,  the  dressed-beef  traffic  from  the  West  threatens  the 
investments  in  slaughter-houses  and  stock-yards  in  the  East. 

As  the  roads  have  found  it  necessary  to  act  together  in  estab- 
lishing running  rules  and  regulations,  so,  in  spite  of  all  rivalries, 
there  must  also  be  joint  agreements  reached  in  some  way  concern- 
ing rates.  Usually  the  roads  serving  a  certain  territory  form  an 
"  association,"  and  their  freight  agents  form  "  rate  committees," 
which  fix  and  publish  joint  rates.  A  tariff  published  by  one  of  the 
trunk  lines  from  the  Eastern  cities  forms  a  good  example.  As  the 
result  of  many  long  and  bitter  wars  and  many  compromises,  it  has 
been  asfreed  amonof  these  roads  that  the  rates  from  New  York  to 
Chicago  shall  form  a  basis  for  all  other  rates,  and  a  scale  has  been 
fixed  showing  the  percentage  of  the  Chicago  rate  to  be  used  as 
the  rate  to  each  important  point  in  the  West.  Thus  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.,  is  60  per  cent,  of  Chicago  rate  ;  Indianapolis  is  93  ;  Vandalia, 
1 16.  The  tariff  above  referred  to  gives  an  alphabetical  list  of  some 
5,000  towns  reached  over  these  roads,  and  opposite  each  town  the 
figure  showing  its  percentage  of  the  Chicago  rate.  The  list  be- 
gins with  Abanaka,  O.,  90,  and  ends  with  Zoar,  O.,  74. 

The  tariff  next  fjives  what  is  called  the  "  Trunk  Line  Classifica- 
tion,"  which  is  a  list  comprising  every  article  known  to  commerce, 
in  all  the  different  conditions,  shapes,  and  packages  in  which  it  is 
offered  for  transportation,  and  opposite  each  article  is  given  its  as- 
signed "  class."  This  particular  classification  assigns  every  article 
to  one  of  six  regular,  or  two  special,  classes,  and  the  present  rates 


THE    WAR    OVER   SPECIAL   RATES.  IJJ 

to  Chicago  in  cents  per  lOO  lbs.  are  given  as  75,  65,  50,  35,  30,  25, 
26,  21.  The  hst  of  articles  begins  with  Acetate  of  Lime,  in  car- 
loads, 5th  class  ;  in  less  quantities,  4th  ;  and  ends  with  Zinc,  in  vari- 
ous forms  from  ist  to  6th — comprising  in  all  nearly  6,000  articles. 
From  these  tables  any  desired  rate  readily  appears.  Thus,  500 
pounds  of  acetate  of  lime  would  cost,  from  New  York  to  Zoar,  O., 
74  per  cent,  of  Chicago's  4th  class  rate,  or  74  per  cent,  of  35 — say, 
26  cents  per  100  lbs.,  or  $1.30. 

There  is  also  given  in  the  tariff  pamphlet  a  list  of  some  300 
manufacturing  towns  in  New  England,  from  each  of  which  the  same 
rates  apply  as  from  New  York.  So,  on  the  whole,  the  pamphlet 
gives  rates  on  about  6,000  articles  from  300  points  of  origin  to 
5,000  destinations. 

In  different  sections  of  the  country  different  classifications  are 
in  use,  some  of  them  embracing  twenty  or  more  classes,  and  allow- 
ing finer  shades  of  difference  between  articles  according  to  their 
value,  bulk,  or  many  other  varying  conditions  which  determine  the 
class  into  which  each  article  is  put. 

Great  efforts  have  been  made  to  bring  about  a  uniformity  of 
classification  over  the  whole  United  States,  and  the  number  of  classi- 
fications in  extensive  use  has  been  reduced  from  a  very  large  num- 
ber to  perhaps  a  dozen. 

But  absolute  uniformity  cannot  be  obtained  under  the  widely 
different  conditions  which  prevail  in  different  sections,  without  great 
loss  and  sacrifices  somewhere.  A  road,  for  instance,  competing  with 
a  river  or  canal  must  adjust  the  classification  of  the  particular  kinds 
of  freight  best  adapted  to  river  or  canal  transportation  so  as  to 
secure  the  traffic  in  competition  with  boats.  It  must  almost  en- 
tirely disregard  bulk,  value,  and  all  other  conditions  upon  which  a 
road  not  affected  by  this  particular  kind  of  competition  arranges  its 
classification.  Uniformity  would  either  force  one  of  them  to  lose 
a  legitimate  business,  or  the  other  to  reduce  reasonable  rates. 

These  rates  and  classifications  are  the  battle-ground  for  all  the 
innumerable  rivalries  of  trade  and  commerce.  Every  city  is  here 
at  war  with  every  other  city,  every  railroad  with  every  other  road, 
every  industry  with  those  which  rival  it,  and  every  individual  ship- 
per is  a  skirmisher  for  a  little  special  rate,  or  advantage,  all  to  him- 
self. State  legislatures  and  commissions,  Congress,  and  the  Inter- 
12 


178  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

state  Commerce  Commission  are  the  heavy  artillery  which  differ- 
ent combatants  manage  to  bring  into  the  contest.  On  these  rates 
probably  a  million  dollars  are  collected  every  day,  yet  it  is  very 
rarely  that  the  positive  rates  are  fought  over  or  complained  of. 
Their  average  is  considerably  below  that  of  the  average  rates  of 
any  other  country  in  the  world,  even  though  other  nations  have 
cheaper  labor  and  denser  populations.  Fifty  cents  for  carrying  a 
barrel  of  flour  a  thousand  miles  cannot  be  called  exorbitant,  and,  in- 
deed, the  retail  prices  paid  for  bread  and  clothing  would  probably 
not  be  reduced  in  the  slightest  were  the  transportation  of  all  such 
articles  absolutely  free.  But  the  battle  is  over  the  comparative 
rates  to  different  points,  over  different  routes,  and  for  different  com- 
modities.* 

Passenger  rates  are  established  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
freight  rates.  There  are  passenger-agents'  associations  and  con- 
ventions, and  they  fight  as  do  the  freight  men  over  comparative 
rates  and  differentials,  and  commissions  to  ao-ents.  The  last  with- 
in  a  few  years  has  been  a  fearful  abuse,  and  is  not  yet  entirely 
abolished.     This  will  illustrate  : 

The  road  A  B  has  two  connections,  C  and  D,  to  reach  E.  It 
sells  tickets  over  each  at  the  same  rate,  and  stands  neutral  between 
them.  But  C  agrees  with  A's  ticket-seller  that  he  will  give  him  a 
dollar  for  every  ticket  he  can  sell  over  C's  line.     D  finds  that  he  is 

*  An  idea  may  be  gained  of  the  extent  and  minuteness  of  the  classification,  and  of  the  constant 
changes  and  adjustments,  both  of  rates  and  classifications,  perpetually  going  on  from  the  following  partial 
list  of  subjects  submitted  to  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Rate  Committee  of  the  Southern  Railway  and 
Steamship  Association. 

Rates. — Watermelon  rates  ;  canned  goods,  Richmond  to  Atlanta  ;  rates  on  cement  from  Eastern 
cities  to  Association  territory  ;  rates  on  sulphuric  acid  from  Atlanta  ;  rates  from  Atlanta,  etc.,  to  Cali- 
fornia and  Transcontinental  terminals;  special  iron  rates  from  Cincinnati,  etc.,  to  Carolina  points; 
rates  on  earthenware.  East  Liverpool  to  S.  E.  territory  ;  rates  on  cotton  bags  to  Memphis  from  At- 
lanta ;  rates  on  fertilizers  to  Mobile,  Ala.  ;  beer  rates  ;  rates  on  special  iron  articles  from  Chattanooga ; 
rates  from  the  West  to  Camden,  S  C.  ;  rates  from  Evansville  and  Cairo,  on  business  from  points  be- 
tween Cairo,  Evansville,  and  Chicago. 

Classification. — Classification  of  paper  twine  ;  beer  packages,  empty  returned  ;  old  machin- 
ery returned  for  repairs  ;  steel  car  springs  ;  cotton  softener  ;  iron  safes  or  vaults  weighing  over  12,000 
lbs. ;  toys,  etc.  ;  portable  powder  magazines  ;  coffee  extract ;  empty  lard  tierces  returned  ;  bolts  and 
nuts  in  barrels  ;  box  and  barrel  material  ;  glass  oil  bottles  in  tin  jackets  ;  cast-iron  radiators  ;  malle- 
able iron  castings  ;  dried  beef;  sausage  ;  straw  paper  ;  burlaps  ;  tobacco  stems  ;  hinges  ;  straw  braids  ; 
lawn  hose  reels  ;  excelsior  ;  car-load  rates. 

Subjects  not  on  the  Regular  List. — Demurrage  rules  ;  adjustment  of  rates  as  per  instruc- 
tions from  the  Executive  Board;  rates  from  Cincinnati  to  Columbus,  Eufaula,  Opelika,  etc.  ;  classifi- 
cation ot  iron  tanks  ;  classification  of  whiting  ;  rates  to  Eufaula,  Ala.,  from  East  ;  rates  to  Milledgeville, 
Ga.  ;  classification  of  cast-iron  cane  mills  ;  classification  of  locomotives  and  tenders. 


COMMISSIONS   TO   PASSENGER   AGENTS.  179 

losing  travel,  and  offers,  privately,  a  larger  commission.  Neither 
knows  what  the  other  is  doing.     The  ticket-seller  gets  his  regular 

salary  from  A,  and  from  C  and 
D  often  enormous  sums  as  com- 
missions, and  is  interested,  not 
in  sending  ignorant  travellers  over  the  line  which  might  suit  them 
best,  but  over  the  one  paying  him  the  largest  secret  commission. 
This  should  be  held  as  against  public  policy,  because  it  tends  to 
prevent  reductions  in  rates  to  the  public  by  robbing  the  roads  of 
much  of  their  revenue,  and  it  also  demoralizes  the  officers  who 
handle  a  business  which  is  practically  but  the  giving  away  of  large 
sums  of  money  as  bribes. 

There  is  another  practice  in  the  passenger  business  which  is 
unfair  at  the  best  and  is  the  source  of  many  abuses.  It  is  charging 
the  same  to  the  man  with  no  baggage  as  to  the  man  with  a  Sara- 
toga trunk.  If  the  baggage  service  were  specially  organized  as  a 
trunk  express,  it  could  be  more  efficiently  handled  and  without  any 
"baggage  smashing,"  while  the  total  cost  of  travelling  to  persons 
with  baggage  would  be  no  more  than  at  present,  and  to  those 
without,  much  less. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  sort  of  abuses  to  which  it  is  now  liable, 
I  may  cite  a  single  case.  I  have  known  a  merchant  buy  a  lot  of 
twenty  trunks  for  his  trade,  pack  them  all  full  of  dry-goods,  check 
them  to  a  city  1,000  miles  away  by  giving  a  few  dollars  to  baggage- 
men, and  himself  buy  a  single  ticket  and  go  by  a  different  route. 
The  roads  which  handled  that  baggage  imagined  that  it  belonged 
to  their  passengers,  and  were  never  the  wiser.  While  the  baggage 
service  is  free,  no  efficient  checks  can  be  provided  against  such  frauds. 

Essential  parts  of  both  freight  and  passenger  departments  are 
the  soliciting  agents.  They  are  like  the  cavalry  pickets  and  scouts 
of  an  army,  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  country  and  looking 
after  the  interests  of  their  lines,  making  personal  acquaintances  of 
all  shippers  and  travellers,  advertising  in  every  possible  manner, 
and  reporting  constantly  all  that  the  enemy — the  rival  lines — are 
doing,  and  often  a  great  deal  that  they  are  not.  For  the  great 
railroad  wars  usually  begin  in  local  skirmishes  brought  on  by  the 
zeal  of  these  pickets  when  the  officers  in  command  would  greatly 
prefer  to  live  in  peace. 


l8o  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

Besides  their  receipts  from  freight  and  passenger  traffic,  rail- 
roads derive  revenue  also  from  the  transportation  of  mails  and  ex- 
press freight  on  passenger  trains,  from  the  sleeping-car  companies, 
and  from  news  companies  for  the  privilege  of  selling  upon  trains. 
Of  the  total  revenue  about  70  per  cent,  is  usually  derived  from 
freight,  25  per  cent,  from  passengers,  and  5  per  cent,  from  mail,  ex- 
press, sleeping-cars,  and  privileges.  When  it  is  considered  that 
high  speed  involves  great  risks  and  necessitates  a  far  more  perfect 
roadway,  more  costly  machinery  and  appliances,  and  a  higher  grade 
and  a  greater  number  of  employees,  the  fast  passenger,  mail,  and 
express  traffic  hardly  seems  at  present  to  yield  its  due  proportion 
of  income. 

We  have  now  followed  the  line  of  organization  and  manage- 
ment through  the  physical  maintenance  of  the  road  and  rolling 
stock,  the  safe  handling  of  the  trains,  the  establishment  of  rates, 
and  solicitation  of  business.  It  only  remains  to  show  how  the  rev- 
enue is  collected,  how  the  expenses  of  operation  are  paid,  and  all 
statistics  of  the  business  prepared.  These  duties  are  usually  united 
under  charge  of  an  officer  called  the  comptroller,  general  auditor, 
or  some  equivalent  title.  His  principal  subordinates,  whose  duties 
are  indicated  by  their  titles,  are  the  auditor  of  receipts,  auditor  of 
disbursements,  local  treasurer,  paymaster,  and  clerk  of  statistics. 

The  record  of  a  single  shipment  of  freight  will  illustrate  meth- 
ods, so  far  as  limits  will  permit.  A  shipper  sending  freight  for  ship- 
ment sends  with  each  dray-load  a  "  dray  ticket"  in  duplicate,  show- 
ing the  articles,  weight,  marks,  and  destination.  If  he  has  prepaid 
the  freight,  or  advanced  any  charges  which  are  to  be  paid  at  desti- 
nation, it  is  also  noted  on  the  dray  ticket.  When  the  drayman 
reaches  the  outbound  freight  depot  with  his  load,  he  is  directed  to 
a  certain  spot  where  all  freight  for  the  same  destination  is  being 
collected  for  loading.  A  receiving  clerk  checks  off  his  load  against 
the  duplicate  dray  tickets,  keeps  one  and  files  it,  and  gives  the 
drayman  the  other,  receipted.  In  case  of  any  loss  arising  after- 
ward, the  original  dray  ticket,  made  by  the  shipper  himself,  with 
his  marks  and  instructions,  becomes  a  valuable  record.  When  the 
entire  shipment  has  been  delivered  at  the  loading  point,  the  ship- 
per takes  the  dray  tickets  representing  it  to  the  proper  desk,  and 


THEORY  OF   THE    WAY-BILL.  l8l 

receives  "  a  bill  of  lading."  This  bill  of  lading  is  made  in  triplicate. 
The  original  and  a  duplicate  are  given  to  the  shipper.  He  keeps 
the  last  and  sends  the  former  to  the  consignee.  It  represents  the 
obligation  of  the  railroad  to  transport  and  deliver  the  articles  named 
on  it  to  the  person  named,  or  his  assignee.  It  is  negotiable,  and 
banks  advance  money  upon  it.  But  the  shipper  may  still,  by  a 
legal  process,  have  the  goods  stopped  en  route  should  occasion 
arise,  as,  for  instance,  by  the  bankruptcy  of  the  consignee.  The 
goods  are  also  liable  for  garnishments  in  certain  cases,  and  there 
is  much  railroad  and  commercial  law  which  it  behooves  the  officials 
interested  to  be  well  posted  in.  When  the  goods  arrive  at  desti- 
nation the  possession  of  the  bill  of  lading  is  the  evidence  of  the 
consignee's  right  to  receive  them. 

Now  we  will  return  to  the  shipment  itself  and  see  how  it  is 
taken  care  of.  The  whole  structure  of  the  system  of  collecting 
freight  revenue,  holding  accountable  all  agents  who  assess  it  and 
collect  it,  dividing  it  in  the  agreed  proportions  between  all  the  rail- 
roads, boats,  bridges,  wharves,  and  transfer  companies  who  may 
handle  it  in  its  journeys,  even  across  the  continent,  and  the  tabulat- 
ing of  the  immense  mass  of  statistics  which  are  kept  to  show,  sepa- 
rately, the  quantities  of  freight  of  every  possible  class  and  variety, 
by  every  possible  route,  and  to  and  from  every  possible  point  of 
destination  and  departure — all  this  system,  neither  the  magnitude 
nor  the  minute  elaboration  of  which  can  be  adequately  described 
within  limits,  is  founded  upon  a  paper  called  the  way-bill. 

The  theory  of  the  way-bill  is  that  no  car  must  move  without 
one  accompanying  it,  describing  it  by  its  number  and  the  initials  of 
the  road  owning  it,  and  showing  its  points  of  departure  and  desti- 
nation, its  entire  contents,  with  marks  and  weights  of  each  pack- 
age, consignors  and  consignees,  freight  and  charges  prepaid  or  to 
be  collected  at  destination,  and  the  proportion  of  the  same  due  to 
each  carrier  or  transfer  in  the  line.  And  not  only  must  a  way-bill 
accompany  the  car,  but  a  duplicate  of  it  must  be  sent  immediately 
and  directly,  by  the  office  making  the  original,  to  the  office  of  the 
auditor  of  freight  receipts.  If  the  railroad  is  a  member  of  any  as- 
sociation, as  the  Trunk  Line  Association  in  New  York,  another  du- 
plicate is  sent  to  its  office,  that  it  may  supervise  all  rates,  and  see 
what  each  road  is  doing.     The  sum  of  all  the  way-bills  is  the  total 


1 82  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

of  a  road's  freight  business.  To  facilitate  taking-  copies  they  are 
printed  with  an  ink  which  will  give  several  impressions  on  strong, 
thin  tissue-paper,  forming  "  soft  copies,"  while  the  "  hard  copy,"  or 
original,  goes  with  the  freight  to  be  checked  against  it  when  the 
car  is  unloaded. 

And  while  the  original  way-bill  fulfils  its  important  function  of 
conducting  the  freight  to  destination  and  delivery,  the  duplicate 
which  was  forwarded  directly  to  the  auditor  of  freight  receipts  has 
no  less  important  purposes.  It  is  the  initial  record  that  freight 
has  been  earned,  and  it  shows  which  agent  of  the  company  has 
been  charged  with  its  collection.  Before  making  any  entries  from 
it  its  absolute  correctness  must  be  assured.  For  this  purpose  all 
its  figures  are  first  checked  by  a  rate-clerk,  who  is  kept  constantly 
supplied  by  the  traffic  department  with  all  current  rates,  classifica- 
tions, and  percentage  tables  by  which  through  freights  are  divided. 
These  way-bills,  coming  in  daily  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  are 
then  the  grist  upon  which  the  office  of  the  auditor  of  receipts 
grinds,  and  from  which  come  forth  the  accounts  with  every  agent, 
showine  his  debits  for  freight  received,  and  the  consolidations 
showing  the  freight  earnings  of  the  road.  Agents  remit  the  mon- 
eys they  collect  direct  to  the  treasurer,  who  makes  daily  reports 
of  the  credits  due  to  each  one.  A  travelling  auditor  visits  every 
station  at  irregular  intervals  and  checks  the  agent's  accounts,  re- 
quiring him  to  justify  any  difference  between  his  debits  and  credits 
by  an  exhibit  of  undelivered  freight. 

The  passenger  earnings  are  obtained  from  daily  reports  by  all 
conductors  of  their  collections,  and  by  all  ticket-sellers  of  tickets 
sold.  These  reports  are  also  checked  by  a  passenger  rate-clerk, 
and  the  travelling  auditor  frequently  examines  and  verifies  the 
tickets  reported  by  agents  as  on  hand  unsold. 

After  the  auditor  of  receipts  has  finished  with  the  way-bills  and 
ticket  reports,  they  go  to  the  statistical  department,  where  are 
prepared  the  great  mass  and  variety  of  statistics  required  by  dif- 
ferent officers  to  keep  themselves  thoroughly  posted  on  the  growth 
or  decrease  of  business  of  every  variety,  and  from  and  to  every 
market  reached  by  the  road.  Finally,  the  way-bills  are  filed  away 
for  reference  in  case  of  claims  for  overcharges,  or  lost  or  damaged 
goods. 


THE   COMPLEX   ORGANIZATION.  1 83 

The  auditor  of  disbursements  has  supervision  of  all  expendi- 
tures of  money,  which  is  only  paid  out  by  the  paymaster  or  treas- 
urer upon  vouchers  and  pay-rolls  approved  by  proper  authority. 
The  vouchers  and  pay-rolls  then  form  the  grist  upon  which  his 
office  works,  and  from  which  are  produced  the  credits  to  be  given 
all  officers  and  agents  who  disburse  money,  and  the  classified 
records  of  expenses,  and  comparison  of  the  same  with  previous 
months  and  years,  and  between  different  divisions. 

I  have  thus  outlined  the  skeleton  of  a  railroad  organization, 
and  suggested  briefly  the  relations  between  its  most  important 
parts,  and  some  of  the  principles  upon  which  its  work  is  con- 
ducted. The  scheme  of  authority  is  outlined  in  the  diagram  on 
page  185.  But  space  is  utterly  lacking  to  clothe  the  skeleton  with 
flesh  and  go  into  the  innumerable  details  and  adjustments  in- 
volved in  the  economical  and  efficient  discharge  of  all  oi  its 
functions. 

It  seems  a  very  simple  matter  for  a  railroad  to  place  a  barrel  of 
flour  in  a  car,  to  carry  it  to  its  destination,  and  to  collect  fifty  cents 
for  the  service.  It  is  done  apparently  so  spontaneously  that  even 
the  fifty  cents  may  seem  exorbitant,  and  I  have  actually  heard  ap- 
peals for  free  transportation  on  the  ground  that  the  cars  were 
going  anyhow.  So  it  also  seems  a  Very  simple  matter  for  a  man 
to  pick  up  a  stone  and  place  it  on  a  wall.  But  this  simple  act  in- 
volves in  the  first  place  the  existence  of  a  bony  frame,  with  joints, 
sinews,  and  muscles,  sustained  by  a  heart,  lungs,  and  digestive 
system,  with  eyes  to  see,  a  brain  to  direct,  nerves  to  give  effect  to 
the  will-power,  and  a  thousand  delicate  adjustments  of  organs  and 
functions  without  which  all  physical  exertion  would  soon  cease. 
Similarly,  a  railroad  organized  to  respond  efficiently  to  all  the 
varied  demands  upon  it  as  a  common  carrier,  by  the  public,  and 
as  an  investment  by  its  owners,  becomes  almost  a  living  organism. 
That  the  barrel  of  flour  may  be  safely  delivered  and  the  fifty  cents 
reach  the  company's  treasury,  and  a  part  of  it  the  stockholder's 
pocket,  the  whole  organization  outlined  in  the  diagram  must  thrill 
with  life,  and  every  officer  and  employee,  from  president  to  car- 
greaser,  must  discharge  his  special  functions.  All  must  be  co- 
ordinated, and  the  organization  must  have  and  use  its  eyes  and 


184  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

its  ears,  its  muscle,  its  nerves,  and  its  brain.  It  must  immedi- 
ately feel  and  respond  to  every  demand  of  our  rapidly  advancing 
civilization. 

Each  road  usually  has  its  own  individuality  and  methods,  and 
its  employees  are  animated  with  an  esprit  de  corps,  as  are  the  sol- 
diers in  an  army.  There  is  much  about  the  service  that  is  attrac- 
tive, and,  on  the  whole,  the  wages  paid  railroad  employees  are 
probably  in  excess  of  the  rates  for  similar  talent  in  any  other  in- 
dustry, although  labor  in  every  other  industry  in  the  United 
States  is  protected  by  high  tariffs,  while  in  this  it  is  under  the 
incubus  of  legislation  as  oppressive  as  constitutional  limits  will 
permit. 

In  Europe,  where  the  pooling  system  practically  prevails,  the 
service  is  much  more  stable  than  in  the  United  States,  and  in 
many  instances  there  are  pensions  and  insurances  and  disability 
funds,  and  regular  rules  for  promotion  and  retirement,  and  pro- 
vision for  the  children  of  employees  being  brought  into  service  in 
preference  to  outsiders.  Such  relations  between  a  company  and 
its  employees  as  must  result  from  arrangements  of  this  character 
are  surely  of  great  benefit  to  both.  They  are  the  natural  out- 
growth of  stability  of  business.  Their  most  advanced  form  is 
found  in  France,  where  each  road  is  practically  protected  from 
dangerous  competition  by  means  of  a  division  of  territory.  In  the 
United  States  we  are  still  in  the  midst  of  a  fierce  competition  for 
territory  and  business,  and,  as  pooling  is  forbidden,  the  railroad 
companies  will  be  in  unstable  equilibrium  until  consolidation  takes 
place.  As  that  goes  on,  and  large  and  rich  corporations  are 
formed,  with  prospects  of  stability  in  management  and  in  business, 
we  may  hope  to  see  similar  relations  established  between  our  com- 
panies and  their  employees.  Already  there  is  a  beginning  upon 
some  of  the  largest  roads,  such  as  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  the 
Pennsylvania  Central.  But  the  ground  still  needs  preparation  also 
on  the  employees'  side,  for  our  American  spirit  is  aggressive  and 
is  sometimes  rather  disposed  to  resent,  as  interfering  with  its  in- 
dependence, any  paternal  relations  with  a  corporation.  And  as  we 
have  before  found  railroad  management  in  intimate  contact  with 
every  problem  of  finance  and  commerce,  it  is  here  confronted  with 
the  social  and  industrial  questions  involved  in   labor  unions   and 


— Comptroller- 


— Purchasing  Agent- 


— Auditor  of  Receipts 

— Auditor  of  Disbursements 

—  Travelling  Auditor 

—  Local  Treasurers 
— Local  Paymasters 
— Clerk  of  Statistics 


j  Superintendent  of  i 
'  (       Transportation  \ 


-Division  Superintendents — 


Superintendent    of  | 
Machinery  ) 


Superintendent    of  |  _ 
Roadway  ) 


-Local  Storekeepers 


— Station  Agents- 


— Receiving  Clerks  and  Laborers 

— Loading  Clerks  and  Laborers 

—Billing  Clerks 

— Discharging  Clerks  and  Laborers 

— Delivery  Clerks 

— Collectors  — Yard  Engines 


— Train  Master - 


-Master  Mechanic- 


-Yard  Master 

-Train  Despatchers 
-Operators 
-Conductors 
-Trainmen 


I  Foreman  Ma-  \^ 
<    chine  Shop    )  " 


— Switchmen 
— Brakemen 


-i 


Foreman  Car  | 
shop  j  " 


— Road  Master- 


(  Supervisors    of  / 
"  I      Bridges  f " 


— Supervisors  of  Road — 


— Car  Accountant- 


(  Lost  Car 
'^    Agents 


— Engine  Runners 

—  Firemen 

— Hostlers  and  Cleaners 
— Mechanics 
— Laborers 

— Car  Inspectors 
— Greasers 
— Mechanics 
— Laborers 

—  Bridge  Foremen 
—Watchmen 

— Carpenter  Gangs 
— Mason  Gangs 

— Section  Foremen 

— Gangs  and  Track  Walkers 

—Wood  and  Water  Tenders 

— Floating  Gangs 

— Construction  Trains 


— Travelling  Agents 

__  (  General   Passen- )  _'_T,ocal  Agents 
I      ger  Agent  I       i 

—Rate  and  Division  Clerks 

—Traffic  Manager Claim  Agent 

I — Travelling  Agents 

_  (General   Freight  I  _l_Local  Agents 
\    Agent  (      J 

— Rate  and  Division  Clerks 
Diagram  showing  the  Skeleton  of  a  Railroad  Organization,  and  Lines  of  Responsibility. 


1 86  RAIL  WA  Y  MAN  A  GEMENT. 

problems  of  co-operation.  As  to  the  results,  we  can  only  say  that, 
as  war  is  destructive,  no  state  of  warfare,  even  between  capital  and 
labor,  can  be  permanent.  Peaceful  solutions  must  prevail  in  the 
end,  and  progress  toward  stability,  peace,  and  prosperity  in  rail- 
road operation  and  ownership  will  be  progress  toward  the  happy 
solution  of  many  vexed  social  questions. 


SAFETY   IN    RAILROAD  TRAVEL. 

By    H.    G.    PROUT. 


The  Possibilities  of  Destruction  in  the  Great  Speed  of  a  Locomotive — The  Energy  of 
Four  Hundred  Tons  Moving  at  Seventy-five  Miles  an  Hour — A  Look  ahead  from  a 
Locomotive  at  Night — Passengers  Killed  and  Injured  in  One  Year — Good  Disci- 
pline the  Great  Source  of  Safety — The  Part  Played  by  Mechanical  Appliances— 
Hand-brakes  on  Old  Cars — How  the  Airbrake  Works — The  Electric  Brake — Im- 
provements yet  to  be  Made — Engine  Driver  Brakes — Two  Classes  of  Signals  :  those 
which  Protect  Points  of  Danger,  and  those  which  Keep  an  Interval  between  Trains 
on  the  Same  Track — The  Semaphore — Interlocking  Signals  and  Switches — Electric 
Annunciators  to  Indicate  the  Movements — The  Block  Signal  System — Protection  for 
Crossings — Gates  and  Gongs — How  Derailment  is  Guarded  Against — Safety  Bolts 
-Automatic  Couplers — The  Vestibule  as  a  Safety  Appliance — Car  Heating  and 
Lishting. 


N  1829,  when  Ericsson's  little  locomotive  "  Nov- 
elty," weighing  two  and  a  half  tons,  ran  a  short 
distance  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  a 
writer  of  the  time  said  that  "  it  was  the  most 
wonderful  exhibition  of  human  daring  and  human 
skill  that  the  world  had  ever  seen."  To-day 
trains  weighing  four  hundred  tons  thunder  by  at 
seventy-five  miles  an  hour,  and  we  hardly  note 
their  passage.  We  take  their  safety  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  sel- 
dom think  of  the  tremendous  possibilities  of  destruction  stored  up 
in  them.  But  seventy-five  miles  an  hour  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet 
a  second,  and  the  energy  of  four  hundred  tons  moving  at  that  rate 
is  nearly  twice  as  great  as  that  of  a  2,000-pound  shot  fired  from  a 
100-ton  Armstrong  gun.  This  is  the  extreme  of  weight  and  speed 
now  reached  in  passenger  service,  and,  indeed,  is  very  rarely  at- 
tained, and  then  but  for  short  distances  ;  but  sixty  miles  is  a  com- 
mon speed,  and  a  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  is  attained  daily  on 


1 88  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 

almost  every  railroad  in  the  country.  We  cannot  tell  from  the 
time-tables  how  fast  we  travel.  The  schedule  times  do  not  indi- 
cate the  delays  that  must  be  made  up  by  spurts  between  stations. 
The  traveller  who  is  curious  to  know  just  how  fast  he  is  going, 
and  likes  the  stimulus  of  thinking  that  he  is  in  a  little  danger,  may 
find  amusement  in  taking  the  time  between  mile-posts  ;  and  when 
these  are  not  to  be  seen,  he  can  often  get  the  speed  very  accu- 
rately by  counting  the  rails  passed  in  a  given  time.  This  may  be 
done  by  listening  attentively  at  an  open  window  or  door.  The 
regular  clicks  of  the  wheels  over  the  rail-joints  can  usually  soon  be 
sino-led  out  from  the  other  noises,  and  counted.     The  number  of 

o 

rail-lengths  passed  in  twenty  seconds  is  almost  exactly  the  num- 
ber of  miles  run  in  an  hour. 

But  if  one  wants  to  get  a  lively  sense  of  what  it  means  to  rush 
through  space  at  fifty  or  sixty  miles  an  hour,  he  must  get  on  a 
locomotive.  Then  only  does  he  begin  to  realize  what  trifles  stand 
between  him  and  destruction.  A  few  months  ago  a  lady  sat  an 
hour  in  the  cab  of  a  locomotive  hauling  a  fast  express  train  over  a 
mountain  road.  She  saw  the  narrow  bright  line  of  the  rails  and 
the  slender  points  of  the  switches.  She  heard  the  thunder  of  the 
bridges,  and  saw  the  track  shut  in  by  rocky  bluffs,  and  new  perils 
suddenly  revealed  as  the  engine  swept  around  sharp  curves.  The 
experience  was  to  her  magnificent,  but  the  sense  of  danger  was 
almost  appalling.  To  have  made  her  experience  complete,  she 
should  have  taken  one  engine  ride  in  a  dark  and  rainy  night.  In 
a  daylight  ride  on  a  locomotive,  we  come  to  realize  how  slender  is 
the  rail  and  how  fragile  its  fastenings,  compared  with  the  ponder- 
ous machine  which  they  carry.  We  see  what  a  trifling  movement 
of  a  switch  makes  the  difference  between  life  and  death.  We  learn 
how  short  the  look  ahead  must  often  be,  and  how  close  danger 
sits  on  either  hand.  But  it  is  only  in  a  night  ride  that  we  learn 
how  dependent  the  engineer  must  be,  after  all,  upon  the  faithful 
vigilance  of  others.  We  lean  out  of  the  cab  and  strain  our  eyes 
in  vain  to  see  ahead.  The  head-light  reveals  a  few  yards  of  glis- 
tening rail,  and  the  ghostly  telegraph  poles  and  switch  targets. 
Were  a  switch  open,  a  rail  taken  up,  or  a  pile  of  ties  on  the  track, 
we  could  not  possibly  see  the  danger  in  time  to  stop.  The 
friendly  twinkle  of  a  signal  lamp,  shining  faintly,  red  or  white,  tells 


Danger  Ahead  ! 


THE    CHANCES   OF  ACCIDENT.  191 

the  engineer  that  the  way  is  blocked  or  is  clear,  and  he  can  only 
rush  along-  trusting  that  no  one  of  a  dozen  men  on  whom  his  life 
depends  has  made  a  mistake. 

When  one  reflects  upon  the  destructive  energy  which  is  con- 
tained in  a  swiftly  moving  train,  and  sees  its  effects  in  a  wreck  ; 
when  he  understands  how  many  minute  mechanical  details,  and 
how  many  minds  and  hands  must  work  together  in  harmony  to  in- 
sure its  safe  arrival  at  its  destination,  he  must  marvel  at  the  safety 
of  railroad  travel.  In  the  year  1887,  the  passengers  killed  in  train 
accidents  in  the  United  States  were  207  ;  those  injured  were  916. 
The  employees  killed  were  406,  and  injured  890.""  These  were  in 
train  accidents  only,  it  must  be  remembered,  and  do  not  include 
persons  killed  at  crossings,  or  while  trespassing  on  the  track,  or 
employees  killed  and  injured  making  up  trains.  As  will  be  seen 
later,  the  casualties  in  these  two  classes  are  much  greater  than 
those  from  train  accidents.  The  total  passenger  movement  in 
1887  was  equal  to  one  passenger  travelling  10,570,306,710  miles. 
That  is  to  say,  a  passenger  might  have  travelled  51,000,000  miles 
before  being  killed,  or  12,000,000  miles  before  being  injured.  Or 
he  might  travel  day  and  night  steadily  at  the  rate  of  30  miles  an 
hour  for  194  years  before  being  killed.  Mark  Twain  would  doubt- 
less conclude  from  this  that  travelling  by  rail  is  much  the  safest 
profession  that  a  man  could  adopt.  It  is  unquestionably  true  that 
it  is  safer  than  travelling  by  coach  or  on  horseback,  and  probably 
it  is  safer  than  any  other  method  of  getting  over  the  earth's  sur- 
face that  man  has  yet  contrived,  unless  it  may  be  by  ocean  steamer. 
If  one  wants  anything  safer  he  must  walk. 

In  considering  the  means  that  have  been  adopted  to  make  rail- 
road travel  safe,  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  are  very  few 
devices  in  use  that  are  purely  safety  appliances.  Nearly  every- 
thing used  on  a  railroad  has  an  economic  or  mechanical  value,  and 
if  it  promotes  safety  that  is  but  part  of  its  duty.  The  great  source 
of  safety  in  railroad  working  is  good  discipline.  Of  all  the  train 
accidents  which  have  happened  in  the   United   States  in  the  last 

*  The  statistics  of  train  accidents  used  in  this  article  are  those  collected  and  published  monthly  for 
many  years  by  the  Railroad  Gazette.  In  the  nature  of  things  such  statistics  cannot  be  absolutely  accu- 
rate, but  no  others  are  in  existence  for  the  whole  country.  These  are  sufficiently  accurate  for  all 
practical  purposes. 


192 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 


Stephenson's  Steam  Driver-brake.     Patented  1833. 


sixteen  years,  nearly  ten  per  cent,  were  due  to  negligence  in  oper- 
ation, and  seventeen  per  cent,  were  unexplained.  Of  these  no 
doubt  many  were  due  to  negligence,  and  many  that  were  attributed 

to  defects  of  track  and  equipment 
would  have  been  prevented,  had 
men  done  their  duty.  The  value 
of  mechanical  appliances  for  safe- 
ty is  perhaps  as  often  overrated 
as  underrated.  Undoubtedly  the 
best,  and  in  the  long  run  the 
cheapest,  practice  will  be  that 
which  combines  in  the  hiofhest 
degree  both  elements  —  disci- 
plined intelligence  and  perfection  of  mechanical  details. 

First  in  importance  among  the  mechanisms  which  demand  at- 
tention here  is  the  brake.  From  the  beginning  of  railroads  the 
necessity  for  brakes  was  apparent,  and  in  1833  Robert  Stephenson 
patented  a  steam  driver-brake  (the  brake  on  the  driving-wheels). 
This  was  but  four  years  after  the  Rainhill  trials,  which  settled  the 
question  of  the  use  of  locomotives  on  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester 
Railroad.  This 
early  brake  con- 
tained the  princi- 
ple of  the  driver- 
brake,  operated 
by  steam  or  air, 
which  has  in  late 
year-s  come  into 
wide  use.  The 
apparatus  is  so 
simple  that  the 
cut  representing 
it  hardly  needs 
explanation.  Ad- 
mission of  steam 
into  the  cylinder 

raised  the  piston,  which  through  a  lever  and  rod  raised  the  toggle- 
joint  between  the  brake-blocks  and  forced  them  against  the  treads 


Driver-brake  on   Modern  Locomotive. 


EARLY  FORMS   OF  CAR-BRAKES. 


193 


English  Screw-brake,  on  the  Birmingham  and   Gloucester 
Road,  about   1840. 


of  the  wheels.  Essentially  the  same  method  of  applying  the  re- 
tarding force  can  now  be  seen  on  most  passenger  engines,  and 
often,  but  not  so  commonly,  on  engines  for  freight  service.  For 
various  reasons  Stephenson's 
driver-brake  did  not  come  into 
use. 

Innumerable  devices  for  car- 
brakes  have  been  invented,  but 
they  divide  themselves  into  two 
groups  :  those  in  which  the  re- 
tarding force  is  applied  to  the  circumference  of  the  wheel,  and 
those  in  which  it  is  applied  to  the  rail.  The  class  of  brakes  in 
which  the  retarding  force  is  applied  to  the  rail  has  been  little  used, 
although  various  contrivances  have  been  devised  to  transfer  a  por- 
tion of  the  weight  of  the  car  from  the  wheels  to  runners  sliding  on 
the  rails.  There  are  many  objections  to  the  principle,  and  it  will 
probably  never  again  be  seriously  considered  by  railroad  men. 
The  apparatus  is  necessarily  heavy,  the  power  required  to  apply 
it  is  great,  and  its  action  is  slow.  When  brought  into  action  it  is 
not  as  efficient  as  the  brake  applied  to  the  tread  of  the  wheels,  and 
the  transfer  of  the  load  increases  the  chance  of  derailment. 

Many  different  devices  have  been  used  to  apply  the  brake- 
shoes  to  the  wheels,  and  various  sources  of  power.  Hand-power 
brakes  have  been  used,  worked  by 
levers,  or  by  screws,  or  by  winding 
a  chain  on  a  staff;  or,  in  still  other 
forms,  springs  wound  up  by  hand 
are  released  and  apply  the  brakes 
by  their  pressure.  The  momen- 
tum of  the  train  has  been  employed  to  wind  up  chains  by  the  rota- 
tion of  the  axles.  This  is  the  principle  of  the  chain-brake,  very 
much  used  in  England.  This  same  source  of  power  has  been  uti- 
lized by  causing  the  drawheads,  when  thrust  in  as  the  cars  run  to- 
gether, to  wind  up  the  brake-chains.  Hydraulic  pressure  has  been 
used  in  cylinders  under  the  cars  ;  and  finally  air,  either  under  pres- 
sure or  acting  against  a  vacuum,  has  been  found  to  be  the  most 
useful  of  all  means  of  operating  train-brakes.  Early  forms  of  hand- 
brakes are  seen  in  the  illustrations  of  some  old  English  cars.  The 
13 


English   Foot-brake   on  the  Truck  of    a  Great  West- 
ern  Coach,  about    1840. 


194  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD   TRAVEL. 

coach  shows  a  hand-brake  operated  by  a  screw  and  system  of 
levers.  By  turning  a  crank  the  guard  puts  in  operation  the  system 
of  levers  which  apply  the  brake  with  great  force ;  but  the  opera- 
tion is  slow.  The  common  hand-brake  of  the  United  States  is  too 
well  known  to  need  illustration.  With  this  brake  a  chain  is  wound 
around  the  foot  of  a  staff,  and  the  pull  of  this  chain  is  transmitted 
by  a  rod  to  the  brake-levers.  This  apparatus  is  simple,  and  when 
a  train  is  manned  by  a  sufficient  number  of  smart  brakemen  it  is 
capable  of  doing  good  service.  This  simple  form  of  hand-brake 
will  probably  be  used  in  freight-car  service  until  it  is  replaced  by 
air-brakes,  and  the  various  forms  of  chain  and  momentum  brakes 
do  not  appear  likely  to  be  much  more  used  in  the  future  than  they 
have  been  in  the  past.  Therefore,  no  further  space  will  be  given 
to  them. 

The  expression,  electric  brake,  is  now  often  heard,  and  requires 
a  word  of  explanation.  There  are  various  forms  of  so-called  elec- 
tric brakes  which  are  practicable,  and  even  efficient,  working  de- 
vices. In  none  of  them,  however,  does  electricity  furnish  the 
power  by  which  the  brakes  are  applied  ;  it  merely  puts  in  opera- 
tion some  other  power.  In  one  type  of  electric  brake  the  active 
braking  force  is  taken  from  an  axle  of  each  car.  A  small  friction- 
drum  is  made  fast  to  the  axle.  Another  friction-drum  hung  from 
the  body  of  the  car  swings  near  the  axle.  If,  when  the  car  is  in 
motion,  these  drums  are  brought  in  contact,  that  one  which  hangs 
from  the  car  takes  motion  from  the  other,  and  may  be  made  to 
wind  a  chain  on  its  shaft.  Winding  in  this  chain  pulls  on  the 
brake-levers  precisely  as  if  it  had  been  wound  on  the  shaft  of  the 
hand-brake.  The  sole  function  of  electricity  in  this  form  of  brake 
is  to  brinof  the  friction-drums  together.  In  a  French  brake  which 
has  been  used  experimentally  for  some  years  with  much  success, 
an  electric  current,  controlled  by  the  engine-driver,  energizes  an 
electro-magnet  which  forms  part  of  the  swinging-frame  in  which  the 
loose  friction-pulley  is  carried.  This  electro-magnet  being  vital- 
ized, is  attracted  toward  the  axle,  thus  bringing  the  friction-drums 
in  contact.  In  an  American  brake  lately  exhibited  on  a  long  freight 
train,  a  smaller  electro-magnet  is  used,  but  the  same  end  is  accom- 
plished by  multiplying  the  power  by  the  intervention  of  a  lever  and 
wheel.     The  other  type  of  so-called  electric  brake  is  that  in  which 


ELECTRICITY  APPLIED    TO   BRAKES.  1 95 

the  motive  power  is  compressed  air,  and  the  function  of  the  elec- 
tric device  is  simply  to  manipulate  the  valves  under  each  car,  by 
which  the  air  is  let  into  the  brake-cylinder  or  allowed  to  escape, 
thus  putting  on  or  releasing  the  brakes.  All  of  these  devices  have 
this  advantage,  that,  whatever  the  length  of  the  train,  the  applica- 
tion of  the  brakes  is  simultaneous  on  all  the  wheels,  and  stops  can 
be  made  from  high  speed  with  little  shock.  Up  to  two  years  ago 
it  seemed  as  If  this  advantasfe  mio-ht  be  a  controllinof  one,  and  com- 
pel  the  introduction  of  electric  brakes  for  freight  service.  Since 
then  the  new  "  quick-acting"  form  of  the  air-brake  has  been  devel- 
oped, by  which  the  brakes  are  applied  on  the  rear  of  a  fifty-car 
train  in  two  seconds,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  necessity  to  turn 
to  other  devices.  It  is  doubtful,  therefore,  if  the  additional  com- 
plication of  electricity  is  widely  introduced  into  brake  mechanism 
for  many  years,  if  ever. 

It  is  now  universally  held  that  the  brake,  both  for  freight  and 
for  passenger  service,  must  be  continuous  ;  that  is,  it  must  be  ap- 
plied to  every  wheel  of  every  car  of  the  train  from  some  one  point, 
and  ordinarily  that  point  must  be  the  engineer's  cab.  With  the 
valve  of  an  efficient  continuous  brake  constantly  under  his  left 
hand,  the  engine-driver  can  play  with  the  heaviest  and  fastest  train. 
Without  that  instrument  his  work  is  far  more  anxious,  and  much 
less  certain. 

The  continuous  brake  which  to  day  prevails  all  over  the  world, 
is  the  automatic  air-brake.  In  the  United  States  much  the  largest 
part  of  the  rolling  stock  used  in  passenger  service  is  equipped 
with  the  Westinghouse  automatic  brake.  A  few  roads  peculiarly 
situated  use  the  Eames  vacuum-brake.  That  brake  is  used  on  the 
elevated  roads  of  New  York,  and  on  the  Brooklyn  bridge  roads. 
The  Westinghouse  brake  is  also  largely  used  in  England,  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  in  India,  Australia,  and  South  America.  In 
the  United  States  it  is  being  rapidly  applied  to  freight  cars  also. 
This  brake,  therefore,  being  the  highest  development  of  the  auto- 
matic air-brake,  and  the  one  most  widely  used,  will  be  briefly  de- 
scribed, as  best  representing  the  most  approved  type  of  the  most 
important  of  all  safety  appliances. 

The  general  diagram  which  is  given  on  pages  196-97  shows 
all  of  the  principal  parts  as  applied  to  a  locomotive,  a  tender,  and  a 


196 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 


Plan  and   Elevation  of  Air-brake  Apparatus, — Reser. 

passenger  car.  The  diagram  is  reduced  from  one  prepared  by 
Mr.  M.  N.  Forney  for  a  new  edition  of  his  "  Catechism  of  the 
Locomotive."  In  the  plan  view  are  shown  very  clearly  the  hand- 
wheels,  the  chains,  the  rods,  and  the  levers  by  which  the  brake 
is  applied  by  hand.  In  passenger  service  the  hand-wheels  are 
rarely  used,  but  they  are  retained  for  convenience  in  switching 
cars  in  the  yard,  and  for  those  rare  emergencies  in  which  the  air- 
brakes fail.  Under  the  middle  of  the  car  the  ordinary  pull-rod  of 
the  old  hand-brake  is  cut  and  two  levers  are  inserted.  One  lever 
is  connected  with  the  brake-cylinder,  and  the  other  with  the  pis- 
ton which  slides  in  that  cylinder.  When  air  is  admitted  to  the 
cylinder  the  piston  is  driven  out,  and  the  brakes  are  applied 
exactly  as  they  would  be  were  the  chains  wound  up  by  turning  the 
hand-wheels.  Compressed  air  is  supplied  to  the  cylinder  from  the 
reservoir  near  it,  in  which  pressure  is  maintained  at  from  70  to  80 
pounds  per  square  inch  by  a  pump  placed  on  one  side  of  the  locomo- 
tive. The  pump  fills  the  main  reservoir  on  the  engine,  and  also  the 
car-reservoirs,  by  means  of  the  train-pipe  which  extends  under  all 
the  cars.  When  the  brakes  are  off  there  is  a  full  pressure  of  air  in 
all  of  the  car-reservoirs  and  train-pipes.  It  is  a  reduction  of  the 
pressure  in  the  train-pipes  which  causes  the  brakes  to  be  applied. 


THE    WESTINGHOUSE  AIR-BRAKE. 


197 


n 

— iii 

i     ,— — 

w 

"^ 

i 

m 

r=^ 

M 

i       /     ft 

D                   U     ! 

voirs  and   piping  in  solid   black  ;   brake  gear  shaded. 


This  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind,  for  it  is  on  this  principle  that 
the  automatic  action  of  the  brakes  depends.  If  a  train  parts,  or  if 
the  air  leaks  out  of  the  train-pipe,  the  brakes  go  on.  This  auto- 
matic principle  is  a  vital  one  in  most  safety  appliances,  and  it  is 
secured  in  the  case  of  the  air-brake  by  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
little  devices  that  man  ever  contrived,  that  is,  the  triple  valve,  which 
is  placed  in  the  piping  system  between  the  brake-cylinder  and 
the  car-reservoir.  This  triple  valve  has  passages  to  the  brake- 
cylinder,  to  the  car-reservoir,  to  the  train-pipe,  and  to  the  atmos- 
phere. Which  of  these  passages  are  open  and  which  are  closed 
depends  upon  the  position  of  a  piston  inside  of  the  triple  valve, 
and  the  position  of  that  piston  is  determined  by  the  difference  in 
air-pressure  on  either  side  of  it.  Thus,  when  the  pressure  in  the 
train-pipe  is  greater  than  that  in  the  car-reservoir,  the  triple  valve 
piston  is  forced  over,  say  to  the  left,  a  communication  is  opened 
from  the  train-pipe  to  the  car-reservoir,  and  the  air  pressure  in  the 
latter  is  restored  from  the  main  reservoir  on  the  locomotive.  At 
the  same  time  a  passage  is  opened  from  the  brake-cylinder  to  the 
atmosphere,  the  compressed  air  escapes,  the  brake-piston  is  driven 
back  by  a  spring,  and  the  brakes  are  released.  If  the  pressure  in 
the  train-pipe  is  reduced,  the  triple-valve  piston  is  driven  to  the 


198  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 

right  (we  will  assume)  by  the  pressure  from  the  car-reservoir,  the 
passage  to  the  atmosphere  is  closed,  air  flows  freely  from  the  car- 
reservoir  to  the  brake-cylinder,  and  the  brakes  are  applied. 

The  function  of  the  engineer's  valve  is  to  control  these  opera- 
tions. Naturally  the  runner's  left  hand  rests  on  this  instrument, 
which  is  fixed  to  the  back  head  of  the  boiler.  To  apply  the  brakes 
he  turns  the  handle  to  such  a  position  as  to  allow  air  to  escape 
from  the  train-pipe  ;  to  release,  he  turns  it  to  allow  air  to  pass 
from  the  main  or  locomotive  reservoir  into  the  train-pipe,  and 
thence  into  the  car-reservoir.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
the  operation  of  the  brake,  which  has  been  described  for  one  car, 
is  practically  simultaneous  throughout  the  train.  The  brakes  on 
the  driving-wheels  of  the  engine  are  also  automatically  applied  at 
the  same  time  as  those  of  the  cars  and  the  tender. 

In  the  plan  on  page  197  the  several  different  positions  of  the 
handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  are  indicated,  and  amono-  them  the 
service-stop  and  the  emergency-stop  positions.  The  quickness  of 
the  stop  can  be  to  some  degree  controlled  by  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  air-pressure  in  the  train-pipe  is  reduced.  To  make  a 
stop  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  the  runner  moves  the  throttle 
lever  with  his  right  hand  and  shuts  off  steam,  and  with  his  left 
hand  moves  the  handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  to  the  emergency 
position,  then  pulls  the  sand-rod  handle  to  let  sand  down  to  the 
rails,  and  finally,  if  the  engine  is  not  fitted  with  driver-brakes,  he 
must  reverse  the  engine  and  again  open  the  throttle.  These 
movements  must  be  made  in  order  and  with  precision  ;  and  to 
make  them  instantly  and  without  mistake  in  the  face  of  sudden 
danger  requires  coolness  and  presence  of  mind.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  an  engine-runner  reverses  his  engine  before  shutting 
off  steam,  in  which  case  the  cylinder-heads  will  very  likely  be 
blown  out  and  the  engine  be  instantly  disabled.  Then,  if  there 
are  no  driver-brakes,  the  locomotive  is  worse  than  useless,  for  in- 
stead of  aiding  in  making  the  stop,  its  momentum  adds  to  the  work 
to  be  done  by  the  train-brakes.  Again,  if  the  air-pressure  in  the 
brake-cylinders  is  so  high,  and  the  adjustment  of  the  levers  such 
that  an  instant  application  of  the  full  pressure  will  stop  the  rotation 
of  the  wheels,  and  cause  them  to  slide  on  the  rails,  the  stop  will 
take  longer  than  if  the  wheels  continued  to  revolve.      The  maximum 


IMPROVEMENTS  SUGGESTED.  199 

braking  effect  is  obtained  when  the  pressure  on  the  wheels  is  as 
great  as  it  can  be  without  causing  them  to  shde,  and  it  may  hap- 
pen that  a  quicker  stop  can  be  made  by  putting  the  engineer's 
valve  to  the  service-stop  position  than  by  trying  to  make  an 
emergency-stop.  The  runner  must,  therefore,  be  familiar  with  the 
special  conditions  of  his  brakes,  and  must  have  that  kind  of  mind 
which  can  be  depended  upon  to  work  clearly  and  quickly  in  a 
moment  of  tremendous  responsibility.  Fortunately,  such  minds 
are  not  very  rare.  The  world  is  full  of  heroes  who  want  only 
discipline,  habit,  and  opportunity. 

The  pressure  of  air  in  the  main  reservoir  and  the  train-pipe  is 
maintained  by  the  air-pump  on  the  locomotive,  the  speed  of  which 
is  automatically  regulated  by  an  ingenious  governor.  It  is  the 
throbbing  of  this  vigilant  machine  which  one  hears  during  short 
stops  at  stations.  The  air-pressure  has  been  reduced  in  applying 
the  brakes,  and  the  governor  has  set  the  pump  at  work. 

All  of  those  parts  of  the  air-brake  apparatus  which  are  shown 
in  the  diagram  (pp.  196-97)  can  be  easily  seen  on  a  train  stand- 
ing at  a  station  ;  but  the  curious  traveller  must  be  careful  not  to 
mistake  the  gas-tank  carried  under  some  cars  for  the  car-reser- 
voir. The  gas-tank  is  about  eight  feet  long  ;  the  car-reservoir  is 
about  thirty-three  inches. 

Although  the  air-brake  can  almost  talk,  it  is  still  not  perfect. 
There  are  several  fortunes  to  be  made  yet  in  improving  it.  For 
instance,  it  is  desirable,  in  descending  long  and  steep  grades,  that 
the  brake-pressure  should  be  just  sufficient  to  control  the  speed  of 
the  train,  and  should  be  steadily  applied ;  otherwise  the  descent 
will  be  by  a  succession  of  jerks  which  may  become  dangerous. 
With  the  automatic  the  brakes  must  be  occasionally  released  to  re- 
charge the  reservoirs,  or  when  the  speed  of  the  train  is  too  much 
reduced  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  keep  a  uniform  speed.  So  far,  the 
means  devised  to  overcome  this  difficulty  and  keep  a  constant  and 
light  pressure  on  the  wheels  have  been  thought  too  costly  or  com- 
plicated for  general  use.  With  hand-brakes  long  trains  are  con- 
trolled by  the  brakes  of  but  a  few  of  the  cars  in  any  one  train.  It 
follows  that  in  the  descent  of  grades  the  braked  wheels  must  often 
run  for  miles  with  the  pressure  as  great  as  it  can  be  without  sliding 
the  wheels.      The  rim  of  the  wheel  is  rapidly  heated  by  the  friction 


200  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 

of  the  brake-shoe,  and  the  unequal  expansion  of  the  heated  and  the 
unheated  parts  of  the  wheel  causes  a  fracture.  This  is  why  so 
many  broken  car-wheels  are  found  at  the  foot  of  grades — of  all 
places  the  worst  for  such  an  accident  to  happen.  With  "  straight 
air,"  that  is,  with  the  pressure  from  the  main  reservoir,  or  the  air- 
pump,  going  directly  to  the  brake-cylinder,  the  engineer  can  apply 
the  brakes  to  all  the  wheels  of  his  train  simultaneously,  and  with 
great  delicacy  of  graduation  ;  and  by  turning  a  three-way  cock 
which  is  placed  in  the  piping  of  each  car,  the  air  can  be  used 
"  straight."  This  is  regularly  done  on  some  mountain-roads.  At 
summits  the  trains  are  stopped  and  the  brakes  are  changed  from 
"automatic"  to  "straight."  This  practice  is  dangerous,  how- 
ever, and  is  not  approved  by  the  best  brake-experts,  for  if  a  hose 
bursts,  or  through  some  other  accident  the  air  in  the  train-pipe  es- 
capes, the  brakes  are  useless.  The  automatic  arrangement  by 
which  a  reduction  of  air-pressure  in  the  train-pipe  applies  the 
brakes,  as  previously  explained,  is  much  preferred,  although  no  en- 
tirely satisfactory  means  has  yet  been  devised  for  automatically 
regulating  the  air-pressure  in  the  brake-cylinder. 

There  is  not  space  here  to  enter  into  the  history  of  the  air- 
brake. It  was  first  practically  applied  to  passenger  trains  in  1868. 
The  first  great  epoch  in  its  subsequent  development  was  the  inven- 
tion, by  Mr.  George  Westinghouse,  Jr.,  of  the  triple  valve.  The 
introduction  of  the  triple  valve  at  once  reduced  the  time  of  full 
application  of  the  brake  for  a  ten-car  train  from  twenty-five  sec- 
onds to  about  eight  seconds.  This  means,  at  forty  miles  an  hour, 
a  reduction  by  more  than  one  thousand  feet  in  the  distance  in 
which  a  train  can  be  stopped.  The  next  great  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  air-brake  was  made  by  the  celebrated  Burlington  brake-trials 
of  1886  and  1887.  These  trials  were  undertaken  by  a  committee 
of  the  Master  Car-builders'  Association,  to  determine  whether  or 
not  there  was  any  power-brake  fit  for  freight  service.  For  general 
freight  service  the  brake  must  be  capable  of  arresting  a  very  long 
train,  with  cars  loosely  coupled,  running  at  a  fair  average  passen- 
ger speed,  without  producing  objectionable  shocks  in  the  rear  of 
the  train.  The  two  series  of  trials  were  carried  out  in  July,  1886, 
and  May,  1887.  The  competing  brake-companies  brought  to  the 
trials  trains  of  fifty  cars  each,  equipped  with  their  devices.     Skilled 


AIR-BRAKES  FOR   FREIGHT  TRAINS.  20I 

mechanical  engineers  from  various  railroad  and  private  companies 
assisted  both  years.  These  trials  were  most  exhaustive,  and  have 
contributed  more  to  the  art  of  braking  than  any  that  preceded  or 
have  followed  them.  The  first  year's  trials  developed  the  fact  that 
the  air-brakes  could  not  be  applied  on  the  rear  of  a  fifty-car  train 
in  less  than  eighteen  seconds,  whereas  the  head  of  a  train  moving 
twenty  miles  an  hour  could  be  completely  stopped  in  fifteen  seconds. 
The  result  was  that  disastrous  collisions  between  the  cars  of  any 
one  train  were  produced  in  the  act  of  stopping.  Men  in  the  rear 
cars  were  thrown  down  and  injured,  and  much  damage  was  done 
to  the  cars.  At  the  end  of  nineteen  days  the  brake-companies 
went  home  to  work  another  year  over  the  new  problem.  In  1887 
they  reappeared  on  the  same  ground,  and  in  eighteen  days  proved 
that  no  simple  air-brakes,  as  then  operated,  could  prevent  disas- 
trous shocks  in  a  long  train  ;  but  it  was  shown  that  by  bringing 
in  electricity  to  actuate  the  air-valves,  the  application  of  the  brakes 
could  be  made  practically  simultaneous  throughout  the  train.  Mr. 
Westinghouse,  however,  during  the  summer  following,  made  such 
modifications  in  the  triple  valve  and  in  the  train-pipe  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  applying  the  brakes  throughout  a  fifty-car  train  in  two 
seconds.  That  settled  the  matter.  He  at  once  equipped  a  train 
of  fifty  cars,  and  in  October  and  November,  1887,  that  train  made 
a  journey  of  about  three  thousand  miles,  making  exhibition  stops 
at  various  cities.  The  journey  was  a  splendid  and  conclusive  dem- 
onstration that  the  air-brake  is  now  a  thoroughly  efficient  and 
reliable  contrivance  for  freight  as  well  as  for  passenger  service. 
The  result  has  been  a  very  rapid  application  of  the  new  quick- 
acting  brake  to  freight  cars.  The  performance  of  this  train  was  to 
railroad  men  most  impressive.  A  freight  train  of  fifty  cars  is  about 
one-third  of  a  mile  long.  To  see  such  a  train,  running  forty  miles 
an  hour,  smoothly  stopped  in  one-third  of  its  own  length,  without 
shock  or  fuss,  was  an  object-lesson  that  no  one  could  fail  to  under- 
stand or  to  remember.  Some  of  the  stops  made  by  this  train  will 
give  a  fair  notion  of  the  relative  power  of  hand-  and  air-brakes 
for  quick  stops.  The  following  figures  are  averages  of  stops  made 
in  six  different  cities.  They  give  the  distances  run  in  feet  from 
the  instant  of  applying  the  brakes  till  the  train  was  brought  to 
a  stand-still : 


202 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 


Feet 

Hand-brakes,  50  cars,  20  miles  an  hour 794 

Air-brakes,  50  cars,  20  miles  an  hour 166 

Air-brakes,  50  cars,  40  miles  an  hour 581 

Air-brakes,  20  cars,  20  miles  an  hour 99 


With  twenty  cars  at  twenty  miles  an  hour  even  shorter  stops 
were  made  than  those  recorded  above.  In  the  BurUngton  trials 
the  hand-brake  stops,  with  fifty-car  trains  at  forty  miles  an  hour, 
were  made  in  from  two  thousand  five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
feet. 

The  air-brake  is  somewhat  complicated,  but  the  complicated 
mechanism  is  strong,  has  little  movement,  and  is  securely  protected 
from  dirt  and  the  elements.  It  is  therefore  little  liable  to  derange- 
ment. It  is,  however,  becoming  better  understood  that  brake-gear 
must  be  good,  and  employees  carefully  instructed  in  the  care  and 
use  of  the  air-brake  to  get  its  best  results  ;  and  in  recent  years 
two  or  three  elaborate  instruction-cars  have  been  fitted  up  for  the 

education  of  the  enginemen  and 
trainmen. 

Space  does  not  permit  more 
than  an  allusion  to  driver-brakes, 
which  are  operated  by  steam 
and  by  air.  The  forms  in  con- 
stant use  are  made  by  the 
Eames,  the  American,  the  West- 
inghouse,  and  the  Beals  com- 
panies. Nor  can  much  be  said 
here  of  the  water-brake,  used 
to  some  extent  on  locomotives 
working  heavy  grades.  It  con- 
sists of  a  simple  arrangement  of 
admitting  a  little  hot  water,  in- 
stead of  steam,  to  the  cylinders. 
The  engine  is  reversed  and  the 
cylinder-cocks    are     opened    to 

Dwarf  Semaphores  and  Split  Switch.  .  .  ,-p>,  t        i  i 

the  air.  I  he  cyhnders  then  act 
as  air-pumps,  and  the  retarding  effect  is  due  to  the  back  pressure. 
The  use  of  the  water  is  to  prevent  overheating  of  the  parts. 


SEMAPHORE   SIGNALS. 


20' 


pr's 


If  it  is  important  to  have  efficient  means  of  stopping  trains,  it  is 
scarcely  less  important  to  have  timely  information  of  the  need  of 
stopping  them.  To  give  such  information  is  the  function  of  sig- 
nals, which,  among  safety  appliances,  must 
stand  next  after  brakes.  Sigrials  fall  nat- 
urally  into  two  great  classes  :  Those 
which  protect  points  of  danger  and  govern 
the  movements  of  engines  in  yards,  and 
those  which  keep  an  interval  of  space  be- 
tween two  trains  running  on  one  track. 
For  the  protection  of  switches,  crossings, 
junctions,  and  the  like,  signals  in  immense 
variety  have  been  used,  and,  unfortunate- 
ly, are  still  used  ;  but 
in  the  last  ten  or  fif- 
teen years  the  sem- 
aphore signal  has 
become  the  general 
standard  in  the 
United  States,  as  it 
long  has  been  in 
England.  This  con- 
sists of  a  board, 
called  the  blade  or 
arm,  pivoted  on  the 
post,  and  back  of  the 
pivot  is  a  heavy  cast- 
ing which  carries  a 
colored  glass  lens, 
either  green  or  red. 
On  the  post  is  hung 
a  lantern.  The  danger  position  is  with  the  blade  horizontal.  In 
this  position  the  lens  is  in  front  of  the  lamp,  and  the  light  shows 
red  or  green,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  safety  position  is  with  the 
blade  hanging  about  sixty  degrees  from  the  horizontal.  In  this 
position  the  light  of  the  lantern  shows  white.  Red  is  the  universal 
danger  color,  and  green  the  color  of  caution.  Therefore,  a  sema- 
phore signal  at  a  point  of  danger  shows  by  day  a  blade  painted 


Semaphore    Signal   with    Indicato-j. 

(One  arm  governs  several   tracks.     The  number  of  the  track,  which   is  clear  i 

shown  on  the  indicator  disk.) 


204 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 


red,  with  the  end  of  the  blade  cut  square.  At  night  it  shows  a 
red  light.  At  a  position  some  distance  from  the  point  of  actual 
danger,  but  where  it  is  desirable  to  warn  an  engine-runner  that 
he  is  likely  to  find  the  danger  signal  against  him,  a  caution  signal 
is  placed.  This  is  a  semaphore  blade  painted  green,  with  the  end 
notched  in  a  V-shape,  or,  as  it  is  called,  a  fish-tail.  At  night  this 
signal  shows  a  green  light.  There  is  nothing  very  remarkable 
about  a  piece  of  board  arranged  to  wag  up  and  down  on  a  pin 
stuck  through  a  post,  but  it  is  wonderful  how  much  of  good  brains 
and  good  breath  have  been  expended  in  getting  these  boards  to 
wag  harmoniously,  and  in  getting  railroad  officers  to  understand 
that  a  plain  board,  having  two  possible  positions,  is  a  better  signal 
than  any  more  complicated  form. 

The  arrangement  of  a  group  of  signals  and  switches  in   such  a 

way  that  their  movements  are  made 
mutually  dependent  one  upon  the 
other,  and  so  that  it  is  impossible  to 
make  these  movements  in  any  but 
prearranged  sequences,  is  called,  in 
railroad  vernacular,  "interlocking," 
and  in  this  sense  the  word  will  be 
used  here.  Interlocking  has  become 
a  special  art.  The  objects  which  it 
is  sought  to  accomplish  by  interlock- 
ing, and  the  admirable  way  in  which 
those  objects  are  attained,  may  best 
be  understood  from  an  actual  exam- 
ple. For  that  purpose  we  shall  take 
a  double-track  junction  completely 
equipped  with  signals,  facing-point 
locks,  and  derailing  switches  (p.  205). 
A  general  view  of  an  interlocking 
frame  was  given  on  page  171  of  this 
volume.  Two  levers  from  such  a 
frame  are  here  shown.  The  normal 
position  of  the  levers  is  forward,  as  lever  A.  When  pulled  back, 
as  lever  B,  the  lever  is  said  to  be  reversed. 

Let  it  be  supposed  that  a  main-line  train   is  to  be  passed  east- 


Section  of  Saxby  &  Farmer  Interlocking  Machine 
(Showing  two  levers  and  locking  mechanism.     A 
normal,  B  is  reversed.) 


FACING-POINT  LOCKS. 


205 


ward  in  the  direction  of  the  arrow  B.     The  first  movement  of  the 
signalman  in  the  signal-tower  would  naturally  be  to  lower  signals 


*Tri 


Diagram  of  a   Double-track   Junction   with    Interlocked   Switches  and 
Signals. 

A  is  the  west-bound  main  line  track  ;  B,   the   east-bound  ;   C  and  D  are  the  west- 
bound and  east-bound  branch-tracks.     Nos.  1,  10,  and  12  are  distant  signals;  Nos.  2. 

9,  and  II,  home  signals  ;   Nos.  3,  6,  and  8,  facing-pomt  locks  ;  and  Nos.  4.  5,  and   7  ,        m 

are  switches.  The  levers  which  move  all  of  these  parts  are  placed  side  by  side  in  a  frame  in  the  signal-tower.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  No.  7  is  a  switch  designed  merely  to  derail  an  engine  on  track  A.  A  similar  switch  is  provided  on 
track  C,  and  is  worked  by  the  same  lever  which  works  junction  switch  No.  5.  In  the  sketch  all  levers  are  supposed  to 
stand  in  iheir  •'  normal  "  position,  all  signals  are  a'  danger,  and  the  switches  are  set  for  the  main  line.  The  switches 
themselves  are  nut  locked  in  this  position  <  f  the  facing-point  lock  levers. 

I  and  2.  He  attempts  to  pull  over  lever  i,  but  cannot  move  it, 
and,  in  spite  of  any  effort  or  ingenuity  on  his  part,  that  signal  re- 
mains at  danpfer.  The  reason  is  that  lever  2  when  normal  locks 
lever  i  normal.  The  logic  of  this  will  be  at  once  apparent. 
Clearing  signal  i  is  an  indication  to  the  engineer  that  the  way  is 
clear,  and  that  he  may  pass  the  junction  at  speed.  So  long  as  this 
signal  (which,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  a  cajition  signal)  stands 
at  danger  he  knows  that  he  may  pass  it,  but  must  be  ready  to  stop 
before  he  reaches  No.  2,  the  home-signal.  Therefore  No.  i  must 
never  be  lowered  till  all  is  arranged  for  passing  the  junction  at 
speed.  As  the  signalman  cannot  lower  signal  i,  he  attempts  to 
lower  signal  2.  Again  he  finds  that  he  cannot  budge  the  lever. 
It  is  locked  by  lever  No.  3.  This  lever  works  a  facing-point  lock, 
which  must  be  described  just  at  this  point  (p.  206). 

The  front  rod  of  the  switch,  that  is-,  the  rod  which  connects  the 
points  of  the  two  moving  rails  of  the  switch,  is  pierced  with  two 
holes  placed  a  distance  apart  just  equal  to  the  throw  of  the  switch. 
In  front  of  these  holes  is  a  bolt  which  is  worked  by  a  lever  in  the 
sio-nal-tower.  After  the  switch  is  set  the  lock-lever  is  reversed 
and  the  bolt  enters  one  of  the  holes,  thus  securely  locking  the 
switch  in  position.  There  is  one  other  interesting  feature  of  this 
facing-point  lock.  It  has  happened  very  often  that  a  switch  has 
been  thrown  under  a  moving  train,  splitting  the  train  and  derailing 
more  or  less  of  it.  This  class  of  accidents  is  especially  likely  to 
happen  when  train  movements  are  very  frequent,  and  may  be  pre- 
vented by  the  use  of  the  "  detector-bar."     This  is  a  bar  about  forty 


2o6 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 


Split  Switches  with   Facing-point  Locks  and  Detector-bars. 

(The  rod  on  the  right  of  the  track  is  the  mechanical  connection  to, the  lever  in  the  signal-tower  by  which  the  locks  and 

detector-bars  are  moved.) 

feet  long,  placed  alongside  the  rail,  and  carried  on  swinging  links, 
like  those  of  a  parallel  ruler,  in  such  a  way  that  any  effort  to  move 
the  bar  lengthwise  of  the  rail  must  raise  it  above  the  top  of  the 
rail.  This  bar  is  moved  by  the  same  lever  which  moves  the  lock- 
insf-bolt.  So  lone  as  there  is  a  wheel  on  the  rail  above  the  detec- 
tor-bar  it  cannot  be  moved,  therefore  the  locking-bolt  cannot  be 
withdrawn,  and  the  switch  cannot  be  moved  until  the  train  has 
passed  completely  off  it. 


THE    USE    OF  DERAILING    SWITCHES. 


207 


—  J-  -"y""^ ^s;* ;  - 


Derailing  Switch, 


We  left  the  signalman  trying  to  lower  signal  No.  2  ;  vainly,  be- 
cause No.  3  lever  was  still  normal  and  the  switch  unlocked  (Dia- 
gram, p.  205).      Probably  he  would  not  have  begun  his  operations 
in  the  bungling  way  that  has 
been  supposed,  but  would  have 


first  reversed  lever  3.  That 
locks  the  switch  by  the  fac- 
ing-point lock,  and  locks  also 
switeh-lever  4  in  the  frame  in 
the  signal-tower  and  releases 
lever  2.  Then  he  reverses 
lever  2.  That  locks  lever  3 
and  releases  lever  i.  Then  he 
reverses  lever  i,  which  locks 
lever  2.  Now  the  way  is  made 
for  a  train  to  pass  east  on  the 
main  line,  and  the  signals  are 
clear.  The  last  siofnal  could 
not    have   been    lowered    until 

the  chain  of  operations  was  complete ;  none  of  the  levers  can  now 
be  moved  until  lever  i  is  again  put  normal  and  signal  i  made 
to  show  danger.  There  is  one  point  of  great  danger  in  this  partic- 
ular train-movement  which  has  not  been  mentioned  ;  that  is,  the 
crossing  of  main-line  east-bound  track  B  by  the  branch-line  west- 
bound track  C.  It  will  be  noticed  that  with  the  levers  normal,  de- 
railing switch  5  is  open,  and  It  is  impossible  for  a  locomotive  to 
pass  beyond  it.  Lever  5  is  interlocked  in  the  tower  with  lever  4 
in  such  a  way  that,  before  5  can  be  reversed  to  let  a  train  pass 
west  from  C,  lever  4  must  be  reversed  to  trap  any  train  on  B  and 
turn  it  down  the  branch  D.  It  must  not  be  understood  that  the 
use  of  "  derailers  "  is  universal.  In  fact,  they  are  not  recommended 
by  the  best  signal  engineers,  except  in  special  conditions.  In  the 
absence  of  derailer  No.  5,  signals  11  and  12  would  be  interlocked 
with  switch  4,  so  that,  so  long  as  that  switch  stands  open  for  the 
main  line  a  clear  sio-nal  cannot  be  criven  to  a  train  cominor  west  on 
C.  It  will  be  noticed  that  signal  2  carries  two  semaphores  on  one 
post.  The  upper  one  is  for  the  main  line  and  the  lower  one  for 
the  branch.     Both  are  operated  by  one  lever,  2,  and  whether  re- 


2o8  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD   TRA  VEL. 

versing  lever  2  lowers  the  main-line  signal  or  the  branch  signal 
depends  on  the  position  of  the  switch.  The  switch  is  made  to  pick 
out  its  signal  by  an  ingenious  but  very  simple  little  arrangement, 
called  a  selector,  which  is  placed  somewhere  in  the  line  of  ground 
connections. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  study,  were  there  space,  to  follow 
the  possible  and  proper  combinations  of  movements  to  pass  trains 
over  the  various  tracks.  It  will  be  seen  that,  by  concentrating  the 
levers  which  move  switches  and  signals  in  one  place  and  inter- 
locking them,  it  is  made  mechanically  impossible  for  a  signalman 
to  give  a  signal  which  would  lead  to  a  collision  or  a  derailment 
within  the  region  under  his  control.  The  only  danger  at  such 
points  is  that  an  engineer  may  overrun  the  signals.  This  descrip- 
tion of  the  objects  and  the  capacity  of  the  system  of  interlocking  is 
no  fancy  sketch.  The  system  has  been  in  use  for  many  years, 
doing  just  what  has  been  here  described,  and  more.  A  recent 
close  estimate  gave  the  number  of  interlocked  levers  now  in  use  in 
the  United  States  as  about  eight  thousand,  and  the  number  is  rap- 
idly increasing.  Recent  official  reports  showed  that  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  there  were  thirty-eight  thousand  cases  in  which 
a  passenger  line  was  connected  with  or  crossed  by  another  line, 
siding,  or  cross-over.  In  eighty-nine  per  cent,  of  these  cases  the 
levers  operating  the  switches  and  protecting  signals  were  inter- 
locked. 

The  example  of  interlocking  which  has  been  given  is  one  of  the 
simplest ;  the  principle  is  capable  of  almost  indefinite  expansion, 
and  any  one  lev^er  may  be  made  to  lock  any  one  or  more  levers 
among  hundreds  in  the  same  frame.  The  greatest  number  of 
levers  assembled  in  any  one  signal-tower  in  this  country  is  one 
hundred  and  sixteen,  at  the  Grand  Central  Station  in  New  York. 
In  the  London  Bridge  tower  there  are  two  hundred  and  eighty 
levers.  This  is  probably  the  greatest  number  in  any  one  tower  in 
the  world.  All  of  these  levers  may  be  more  or  less  interlocked. 
The  same  principle  is  applied  to  the  locking  of  two  levers  at  a  sin- 
gle switch,  and  to  the  protection  of  drawbridges  and  highway 
crossings. 

The  mechanism  by  which  the  interlocking  is  done  is  strong  and 
comparatively  simple,  but  a  detailed  description  of  it  seems  out  of 


ELECTRIC  ANNUNCIATORS  FOR   SIGNALS.  209 

place  here.  Two  levers  from  a  Saxby  &  Farmer  machine  are 
shown  on  page  204,  with  lever  A  normal  and  B  reversed.  The 
locking  mechanism  is  in  front  of  the  levers,  and  is  actuated  not  by 
the  levers  themselves,  but  by  their  catch-rods.  It  follows  that  it  is 
not  the  actual  movement  of  a  signal  which  prevents  the  movement 
of  other  signals,  or  of  switches,  but  it  is  the  intention  to  move  that 
signal.  This  principle  of  " preliminary  locking"  is  one  of  great 
importance. 

Switches  and  sio^nals  are  often  worked  at  such  distances  from 
the  tower  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  operator  to  know  whether  or 
not  the  movement  contemplated  has  taken  place.  The  British 
Board  of  Trade  does  not  permit  switches  to  be  worked  more  than 
750  feet  away.  In  this  country  there  is  no  limit,  but  probably  800 
feet  is  very  rarely  exceeded.  Signals  are  worked  in  England  up 
to  3,000  or  3,500  feet  very  commonly,  and  they  are  even  worked 
a  mile  away,  but  not  satisfactorily.  This  is  with  direct  mechanical 
connection,  by  rod  or  wire,  from  the  levers.  It  is  obvious  that  a 
break  in  the  connections  between  the  lever  and  the  switch  or 
signal  might  take  place,  and  the  lever  be  pulled  over,  without  hav- 
ing produced  the  corresponding  movement  at  the  far  end.  The 
locking  mechanism  in  the  tower  would  not  be  affected  by  such  an 
accident,  and  consequently  conflicting  signals  might  be  given. 
Even  this  contingency  is  provided  against  with  almost  perfect 
safety.  If  a  signal  connection  breaks,  the  signal  is  counter- 
weighted  to  go  to  danger.  The  worst  that  can  happen  is  to  delay 
traffic.  If  a  switch  connection  breaks,  the  locking-bolt,  in  the 
latest  form  of  facing-point  lock,  will  not  enter  the  hole  in  the 
switch-rod,  and  consequently  warning  is  given  in  the  tower  that 
the  switch  has  not  moved.  Electric  annunciators  are  often  placed 
in  the  signal-tower,  to  show  on  a  board  before  the  operator 
whether  or  not  the  movements  of  switches  and  signals  have  taken 
place. 

Considerable  work  must  be  done  in  the  movement  of  each 
lever.  The  ground  connections  must  be  put  down  with  great  care, 
as  nearly  straight  and  level  as  may  be,  well  drained,  and  protected 
from  ice  and  snow.  All  of  these  difficulties  have  been  overcome 
in  a  beautiful  pneumatic  interlocking  apparatus  which  has  been  in- 
troduced within  the  last  two  or  three  years.  In  this  system  the 
14 


2IO  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 

motive  power  is  compressed  air.  Near  each  switch  is  a  small 
cylinder,  containing  a  piston  which  is  attached  directly  to  the 
switch  movement.  Compressed  air  admitted  to  one  side  or  the 
other  of  this  piston  moves  the  switch  one  way  or  the  other.  But, 
as  it  would  take  some  time  for  the  necessary  quantity  of  air  to  flow 
from  the  signal-tower  to  a  distant  switch,  a  small  reservoir  is 
placed  near  the  switch,  and  the  air  from  this  reservoir  is  admitted 
to  one  end  or  the  other  of  the  switch  cylinder  according  to  the 
position  of  a  valve.  For  transmitting  the  motion  from  the  tower 
to  the  valve  compressed  air  might  be  used,  but,  as  air  is  elastic,  a 
quicker  movement  is  got  by  using  in  the  pipes  some  liquid  which 
does  not  readily  freeze,  and  which,  being  practically  non-compres- 
sible, transmits  an  impulse  given  at  one  end  almost  instantly  to 
the  other.  The  signals  are  worked  in  essentially  the  same  manner 
as  the  switches,  except  that  the  pneumatic  valves  are  moved  by 
electricity.  The  tower  apparatus  of  a  pneumatic  system  in  the 
yard  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Pittsburg  is  shown  in  the 
engraving  opposite.  In  the  front  of  the  apparatus  is  seen  a  rank 
of  small  handles,  which  can  be  turned  from  side  to  side  with  as 
much  ease  as  the  keys  of  a  piano  can  be  depressed.  Turning  one 
of  these  handles  admits  compressed  air  to  the  end  of  a  pipe  con- 
taining liquid.  Instantly  the  pressure  is  transmitted  500  or  1,000 
feet  to  the  valve  at  the  switch  to  be  moved.  The  small  levers  are 
interlocked  perfectly,  and  in  that  particular  perform  the  duties  of 
the  ordinary  machine.  A  model  of  the  tracks  controlled  is  placed 
before  the  operator,  showing  the  switches  and  signals,  and  when 
a  movement  is  made  on  the  ground  it  is  at  once  repeated  back  by 
electricity  and  duplicated  on  the  model.  This  beautiful  system  is 
due  to  the  same  genius  that  gave  us  the  perfected  air-brake  and 
the  triple  valve,  and  is  the  greatest  improvement  that  has  been 
made  in  interlocking  in  the  last  dozen  years. 

If  the  reader  has  grasped  the  full  significance  of  interlocking, 
he  understands  that  it  makes  it  impossible  to  give  a  signal  that 
would  lead  to  a  collision  or  to  a  derailment  at  a  misplaced  switch. 
The  worst  that  a  stupid,  or  drunken,  or  malicious  signalman  could 
do  would  be  to  delay  traffic,  if  the  signals  were  obeyed.  Here 
comes  in  the  failing  case.  The  brake-power  may  be  insufficient 
to  stop  a  train  after  a  danger  signal  is  given.     That  is  a  rare  oc- 


TORPEDOES  AS  SIGNALS. 


213 


currence,  but  may  happen.  The  engineer  may  not  see  the  danger 
signal  because  of  fog,  or  he  may  carelessly  run  past  it.  Provision 
against  a  failure  to  see  and  to  obey  a  signal  may  be  made  by  plac- 
ing on  the  track  a  torpedo,  which  will  explode  with  a  loud  report 
when  struck  by  a  wheel.  The 
use  of  hand-torpedoes  in  fogs, 
and  for  emergencies  in  places 
unprovided  with  fixed  signals, 
is  very  common.  These  are 
little  disks  filled  with  a  detonat- 
ing powder,  and  provided  with 
tin  straps  that  are  bent  down  to 
clasp  over  the  top  of  the  rail. 
A  simple  and  very  efficient  tor- 
pedo machine,  which  has  been 
used  for  some  years  on  the 
Manhattan  Elevated  and  else- 
where, is  here  shown.  This 
machine  has  a  magazine  hold- 
ing five  torpedoes.  It  is  connected  to  a  signal-lever  in  such  a 
way  that,  when  the  signal  is  put  to  danger,  one  torpedo  is  placed 
in  a  position  to  be  exploded  by  the  first  passing  wheel.  When  the 
signal  returns  to  the  clear  position  the  torpedo,  if  unexploded,  is 
withdrawn  to  the  magazine.  If  the  torpedo  is  exploded  another 
one  takes  its  place  at  the  next  movement  of  the  signal-lever.  One 
of  these  machines  on  the  Elevated  Road  moves  about  five  thou- 
sand times  every  day.  In  such  a  case  a  torpedo  would  soon  be 
worn  out  if  it  was  not  exploded  or  frequently  changed.  When 
this  apparatus  is  in  operation,  an  unmistakable  alarm  is  at  once 
given  to  the  engineer  and  to  others  if  a  danger  signal  is  passed. 
On  the  Manhattan  Elevated  lines  an  engineman  who  overruns  a 
danger  signal  and  can  show  no  good  reason  for  it  is  suspended 
for  the  first  offence,  and  discharged  for  the  second.  The  torpedo 
makes  it  impossible  for  him  to  escape  detection. 


Torpedo    Placer. 

(The  torpedo  is  carried  forward  by  ihe  plunger  and  ex- 
ploded by  the  depression  of  the  hammer  shown  near  the 

rail.) 


The  second  great  class  of  signals  comprises  those  which  are 
intended  to  keep  fixed  intervals  of  space  between  trains  running 
on  the  same  track.     These  are  block  signals.     The  block  system 


214 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 


is  used  on  a  few  of  the 
railroads  of  the  United 
States  which  have  the 
heaviest  and  fastest 
traffic.  Much  the  most 
common  practice  in  this 
country,  however,  is  to 
run  trains  by  time  in- 
tervals, and  under  the 
constant  control  of  the 
train  despatcher.  In 
England  the  block  sys- 
tem is  almost  universal. 
About  ninety  per  cent, 
of  all  the  passenger 
lines  of  that  country  are 
worked  under  the  abso- 
lute block  system. 

When  the  block  sys- 
tem is  not  used,  it  is 
quite  common  to  pro- 
tect particularly  dan- 
gerous points,  such  as 
curves  and  deep  cuts, 
by  stationing  watchmen 
there  with  flaofs  or  with 
some  form  of  fixed  sig- 
nal. The  watchman  can  notify  an  approaching  engine-runner 
that  a  preceding  train  has  or  has  not  passed  beyond  his  own  range 
of  vision  ;  or  can  notify  him  that  it  has  been  gone  a  certain  time. 
Travellers  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  must  have  noticed 
the  queer  structures,  with  revolving  vanes  on  top,  looking  like  a 
feeble  sort  of  windmill,  which  appear  in  positions  to  command  a 
view  of  cuts,  curves,  etc.  These  are  examples  of  the  devices  for 
local  protection.  The  non-automatic  block  signal  develops  natu- 
rally from  the  protection  of  scattered  points.  Instead  of  placing 
watchmen  at  points  of  especial  danger,  they  are  placed  at  regular 
intervals  of  one    mile,  two   miles,  or  five   miles.     Instead    of  the 


Old  Sigrial  Tower  on  tne  Pniiodelpma  lie  Reading,  at  Pnoenixville 


THE  BLOCK  SIGNAL    SYSTEM.  215 

watchman  looking  to  see  that  a  train  has  disappeared  from  his 
field  of  vision  before  he  lets  another  train  pass,  he  uses  the  eyes 
of  the  next  watchman  ahead,  who  telegraphs  back  that  the  train 
has  passed  his  station.     Suppose  A,  B,  and  C  to  be  three  block- 

A B C 

signal  stations  placed  at  intervals  of  two  miles.  When  a  train 
passes  A,  the  operator  at  that  point  at  once  puts  a  signal  to  danger 
behind  it.  This  signal  stands  at  danger  until  the  train  passes  B, 
and  the  operator  puts  his  signal  to  danger,  and  telegraphs  back  to 
A  to  announce  that  train  No.  i  has  passed  out  of  the  block  A  B, 
and  is  protected  by  the  signal  at  B.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  the 
operator  clears  the  signal  at  A  and  allows  train  No.  2  to  enter  the 
block.  Meanwhile  train  No.  i  is  proceeding  through  the  block 
B  C,  its  rear  protected  at  B ;  and  the  same  sequence  of  events 
happens  when  it  arrives  at  C  as  happened  at  B.  This  is  the  sim- 
plest form  of  block  signalling.  In  the  more  elaborate  form  there 
are  at  each  block-station  three  signals — the  distant,  the  home,  and 
the  starting.  The  signals  are  often  electrically  interlocked,  from 
one  station  to  another,  in  such  a  way  that  it  is  mechanically  impos- 
sible for  the  operator  at  A  to  give  a  signal  for  a  train  to  pass  that 
station  until  the  signal  at  B  has  been  put  to  danger  behind  the 
preceding  train. 

It  is  seen  that  no  two  trains  can  be  in  the  same  block  and  on 
the  same  track  at  the  same  time.  If  all  run  at  a  uniform  speed, 
they  will  be  kept  just  the  length  of  a  block  apart.  If  No.  2  is 
faster  than  No.  i,  it  will  arrive  at  B  before  No.  i  gets  to  C,  but 
will  have  to  wait  there.  The  block  system,  therefore,  while  it 
gives  security,  does  not  always  facilitate  traffic.  The  longer  the 
blocks  the  greater  will  be  the  delay  to  trains  ;  but  the  shorter  the 
blocks,  the  greater  the  cost  of  establishment,  maintenance,  and 
operation. 

Various  systems  have  been  contrived  to  have  block  signals  dis- 
played automatically  by  the  passage  of  trains.  This,  if  it  can  be 
done  reliably,  will  do  away  with  the  wages  of  part  of  the  operators, 
and  will  also  eliminate  the  dangers  arisingr  from  human  careless- 
ness.     But  there  are  very  great  objections  to  relying  solely  upon 


2i6  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 

the  automatic  action  of  signals,  and  automatic  block  signals  are 
little  used  except  as  auxiliary  to  a  system  employing  operators 
also.  So  used,  they  are  of  decided  advantage,  as  they  make  sure 
that  a  danger  signal  is  set  behind  every  train  in  spite  of  the  op- 
erator, and  that  it  cannot  be  again  set  to  the  all-clear  position  till 
the  train  has  passed  out  of  the  block.  All  this  is  accomplished  by 
electricity. 

Brakes,  interlocking,  and  the  apparatus  of  signalling  have  been 
considered  at  length  because  they  are  very  much  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  the  appliances  which  go  to  increase  the  safety  of  operat- 
ino-  railroads.  They  act  chiefly  to  prevent  collisions,  but  often  pre- 
vent or  mitigate  accidents  from  derailments  and  other  causes.  Of 
all  train-accidents  happening  in  the  last  sixteen  years,  over  one- 
third  have  been  from  collisions,  and  more  than  one-half  from  derail- 
ments. 

After  brakes  and  signals,  the  devices  next  in   importance   as 
means  of  saving  life  are  those  for  the  protection  of  highway  cross- 
ings at  the  grade  of  railroads.      In  years  to  come,   as  wealth  in- 
creases and  as  traffic  becomes  more  crowded,   we  may   suppose 
there  will  be  few  such  crossings  ;  but  their  abolition  must  be  slow, 
and  meantime  the  loss  of  life  at  them  is  great.     The  most  accurate 
and  complete  statistics  bearing  on  this  matter  are  those  collected 
by  the  Railroad  Commissioners  of  Massachusetts.      In  1888,  of  all 
those  killed  in  the  operation  of  the  railroads  of  the  State,  seven  per 
cent,  were  passengers,  thirty-three  per  cent,  were  employees,  and 
sixty  percent,  were  others.     The  others  include  trespassers,  forty- 
seven  per  cent.  ;  and  killed  at  grade  crossings,   eleven  per  cent. 
More  trespassers  were  killed  than  any  other  class  ;  but  the  deaths 
at  highway  crossings  considerably  exceeded  those  among  passen- 
gers.    The  difficulty  of  preventing  this  class  of  accidents  is  strik- 
ingly shown  by  the  fact  that,  of  all  crossing  accidents,  forty-two  per 
cent,  were  due  to  the  victims'  disregard  of  warnings  given  by  closed 
gates  or  flags.      It  is  evident  that  the  efforts  of  the  railroad  com- 
panies to  save  people's  lives  at  crossings  are  largely  nullified  by  the 
carelessness  of  the  public,  and  the  lack  of  proper  laws  to  punish 
those  who  venture  upon  railroad  tracks  when  they  should  keep  off 
them.      Still,  it  remains  the  duty  and  the  policy  of  the  railroads  to 


PROTECTION  FOR    CROSSINGS. 


217 


protect  street  crossings  by  all  practicable  means.  The  best  pro- 
tection is  afforded  by  gates  with  watchmen,  and  of  all  forms  of 
gate  the  most  common,  because  it  is  the  simplest  and  most  conve- 
nient to  operate,  is  the  familiar  arm-gate.      This  is  usually  worked 


Crossing  Gates  worked  by  Mechanical  Connection  from  tne  Cabin. 

by  a  man  turning  a  crank,  but  it  is  also  worked  by  compressed  air. 
On  this  page  is  shown  a  group  of  gates  worked  from  an  elevated 
cabin  by  a  mechanical  connection.  A  bell  fixed  at  a  crossing,  to 
be  rung  by  an  approaching  train,  is  a  very  useful  auxiliary  to  gates 
and  to  watchmen  with  flags,  and  is  considerably  used  where  the 
traffic  does  not  warrant  the  expense  of  maintaining  a  watchman. 
There  are  several  good  devices  of  this  sort,  either  electric  or  mag- 
neto-electric.     One  of  the  latter  class  has  a  lever  aloneside  the 


2l8 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 


rail,  which  is  depressed  by  each  wheel  that  passes  over  it.  This 
lever  is  geared  to  a  fly-wheel,  which  is  set  rapidly  revolving  and 
causes  an  armature  to  revolve  in  the  field  of  a  magnet,  and  thus 
generates  a  current  and  rings  a  gong,  precisely  as  is  done  with  the 
familiar  magnetic  bell  used  with  the  telephone. 

About  thirteen  per  cent,  of  the  train-accidents  in  the  United 
States,  in  the  last  sixteen  years,  were  derailments  due  to  defects 
of  road.  These  include  not  only  defective  rails,  switches,  and 
frogs,  but  bridge  wrecks.  There  are,  however,  few  devices  used 
in  the  track,  other  than  those  already  mentioned,  that  can  be  called 
safety  appliances.  This  class  of  accidents  is  to  be  provided  against 
only  by  good  material,  good  workmanship,  and  unceasing  care. 
Many  so-called  safety  switches  and  safety  frogs  are  offered  to  rail- 
road officers,  but  those  actually  in  wide  use  are  confined  to  a  very 
few  standard  forms.  The  split-switch,  which  is  shown  in  the  en- 
gravings on  pages   206  and  207,   has  gradually  replaced  the  old 


Some    Results   ol   a    BuUing   Cullibion-Baggage   and    Pdsse 


Cais    Telescoped. 


Stub-switch,  as  well  as  most  of  the  "  safety  "  switches  that  have 
been  from  time  to  time  introduced  ;  although  the  stub-switch  is 
still  in  considerable  use  in  yards  where  movements  are  slow,  and 
in  the  main  tracks  of  the  less  progressive  roads.  It  consists  of  a 
pair  of  moving  rails  the  ends  of  which  are  brought  opposite  to  the 


ACCIDENTS  CAUSED  BY  STUB-SWITCHES. 


219 


Wreck  at  a   Bridge. 


ends  of  the  main-line  rails,  or  to  those  of  the  turnout,  as  the  case 
may  be.  It  follows  that  but  one  of  these  tracks  is  continuous  at 
any  one  time,  and  a  train  reaching  the  switch  by  the  other  track 
must  be  derailed.  The  distressing  accident  which  happened  at 
Rio,  Wis.,  in  1886,  where  seventeen  people  lost  their  lives,  was  a  de- 
railment of  this  sort.  Since  that  time  the  railroad  on  which  the  ac- 
cident happened  has  taken  out  all  stub-switches  on  thousands  of 
miles  of  main-line  track.  The  split-switch  provides  against  such 
derailments,  for  if  the  switch  is  set  for  the  turnout,  and  a  train 
approaches  it  from  the  main  line  in  the  "trailing"  direction,  the 
flanees  of  the  wheels  move  the  switch-rails  to  make  the  track 
continuous.  The  terms  "facing"  and  "trailing,"  as  applied  to 
switches,  are  almost  self-explanatory.  If  a  train  approaches  to- 
ward the  points  of  the  moving  rails,  the  switch  is  said  to  be  fac- 
ing. If  it  runs  through  the  switch  from  the  rear  of  the  moving 
rails,  the  switch  is  said  to  be  trailing.  This  will  be  made  clear 
by  reference  to  the  illustration  on  page  206.  If  a  train  were  com- 
ing from  the  bridge,  the  first  switch  reached  by  it  would  be  a 
trailing  and  the  second  a  facing  switch.  In  the  newspaper  reports 
an  accident  will  very  often  be  assigned  to  one  of  two  causes,  failure 


2  20 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 


Soutn    Hoivi, 


id   by  safety  bolts. 


of  the  air-brakes  or  spreading  of  the  rails.  The  chances  are  that 
it  will  be  found  on  investigation  to  be  due  to  neither  of  these 
causes.  Those  interested  to  maintain  the  credit  of  the  air-brake 
or  of  the  track  department  are  not  often  on  the  ground  when  the 
reporter  gets  his  information,  and  the  temptation  is  always  great 
to  shift  the  responsibility  to  the  shoulders  of  the  absent.  Probably 
the  displacement  of  the  rail  will  have  taken  place  after  the  derail- 
ment ;  but  rails  do  sometimes  spread.  Loose  spikes  and  rotten 
ties  allow  the  outer  edge  of  the  rail-flange  to  sink  into  the  wood, 
and  the  rail  to  roll  outward  enough  to  let  the  wheels  drop.  Sound 
ties  are  the  first  safeguard  against  such  accidents.  Metal  plates 
under  the  rails  are  useful  also  ;  but  one  of  the  most  efficient  means 
of  preventing  displacement  of  the  rails  is  the  interlocking  bolt 
shown  above.     These  bolts  cross  in  the  timber,  and  slots  cut  in 


C^S£S   OF  INTERLOCKING  BOLTS.  221 

the  two  bolts  engage  with  each  other  in  such  a  way  that  when  the 
nuts  are  screwed  down  on  the  rail-flange  it  is  impossible  to  pull 
the  bolts  out.  They  can  only  be  moved  by  tearing  through  the 
wood  contained  in  the  angle  between  them.  This  bolt  is  much 
used  on  bridges  and  trestles,  where  it  is  of  vital  importance  that 
the  rails  should  be  held  in  place  and  no  part  of  the  floor  broken. 

In  1853  an  express  train  went  through  an  open  draw  at  South 
Norwalk,  Conn.,  and  forty-six  lives  were  lost.  This,  one  of  the 
most  serious  railroad  accidents  that  ever  happened,  is  still  remem- 
bered as  an  historical  calamity.  The  bridge  which  stands  on  the 
same  site  is  shown  opposite.  In  May,  1888,  a  west-bound  express 
train,  consisting  of  an  engine  and  seven  cars,  was  derailed  just  as 
it  was  entering  the  draw-span.  The  train  ran  three  hundred  feet 
on  the  sleepers  before  it  was  stopped.  Then  it  was  found  that  all 
of  the  driving-wheels  of  the  engine  had  regained  the  rails,  but  all 
the  other  wheels  were  off,  except  those  of  two  sleeping-cars  in 
the  rear.  This  was  a  remarkable  escape  from  a  bad  accident,  and 
much  of  the  credit  of  it  has  been  given  to  the  interlocking  bolts 
with  which  the  rails  were  fastened.  They  are  supposed  to  have  pre- 
vented the  rails  being  crowded  aside,  and  thus  to  have  made  pos- 
sible the  rerailing  of  the  engine.  Besides,  they  helped  the  oak 
guard-timbers  to  hold  the  ties  in  place.  The  destruction  of  a 
bridge  in  an  accident  frequently  begins  by  the  ties  bunching  in 
front  of  the  wheels  and  allowing  the  wheels  to  drop  through  and 
strike  the  floor-beams  below.  For  this  reason  guard-timbers, 
notched  down  over  the  ties,  should  always  be  used. 

The  traveller  will  have  noticed,  on  all  bridges  of  various  roads, 
two  rails  placed  inside  the  track-rails,  and  curved  to  meet  in  a  point 
at  either  end  of  the  bridge.  These  are  known  as  inside  guard- 
rails, and  their  function  is  to  keep  derailed  trucks  in  line  till  the 
train  can  be  stopped.  Besides  the  bunching  of  the  ties,  there  is 
danger  in  a  bridge  derailment  that  a  truck  may  swing  around  and 
strike  one  of  the  trusses.  Then  the  bridge  is  very  likely  to  be 
wrecked.  A  further  provision  for  the  protection  of  bridges  is  the 
rerailing  frog  invented  by  the  late  Charles  Latimer,  whose  name 
is  dear  to  railroad  men  all  over  America.  This  consists  of  a  pair 
of  castings  combined  with  inside  guard-rails,  designed  to  raise  the 
derailed   wheels   and   guide   them   on   to   the   rails.     There   is  no 


222 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 


-  ^ ^~z^7;;-i.'^  -^  y^^^^^^ 


Engines  Wrecked   during  the    Giedt   Wabasn    Strike. 

doubt  that  it  has  prevented  several  wrecks,  although  it  has  never 
been  widely  used.  The  subject  of  bridges  should  not  be  left  with- 
out a  word  of  explanation  of  the  stout  timber-posts  often  seen  at 
either  end  placed  in  line  with  the  trusses.  These  are  designed  to 
stop  any  derailed  vehicle  which  might  otherwise  strike  against  and 
destroy  a  truss. 

There  is  one  track-fixture  that  has  no  duty  or  value  except  as 
it  promotes  safety.  It  helps  only  one  humble  class  of  railroad  em- 
ployees. That  device  is  the  foot-guard.  At  all  places  where  two 
rails  cross  or  approach  each  other,  as  at  frogs  and  guard-rails, 
dangerous  boot-jacks  are  formed  by  the  rail-heads.  The  overhang 
of  the  heads  of  the  rail  makes  it  easy  for  one  to  so  fasten  his  foot 
in  one  of  those  boot-jacks  that  it  is  hard  to  get  it  out.  If  a  man 
finds  himself  in  this  position  in  front  of  an  approaching  train,  he 
sometimes  has  the  alternative  of  standing  up  to  be  struck  by  the 
engine  or  lying  down  and  having  his  foot  cut  off.  Fortunately 
this  class  of  accidents  is   comparatively   rare  ;   probably  not  more 


UNIFORM  AUTOMATIC  COUPLERS.  223 

than  two  or  three  per  cent,  of  all  deaths  and  injuries  to  passengers 
and  employees  is  caused  in  this  way.  Nevertheless,  the  means  of 
guarding-  against  accidents  of  this  class  is  so  cheap  that  it  should 
be  more  generally  adopted  than  it  is.  It  consists  simply  in  partly 
filling  the  space  between  the  rail-heads  by  putting  in  wooden 
blocks  or  strips  of  metal,  or  even  packing  with  cinders,  gravel,  or 
any  sort  of  ballast.  Various  wooden  and  metal  foot-guards  have 
been  patented.     They  are  all  too  simple  to  require  description. 

Of  all  accidents  to  employees  the  most  numerous  are  those 
which  arise  in  coupling  and  uncoupling  cars.  In  Massachusetts,  in 
1888,  the  employees  killed  and  injured  were  391  ;  of  these  casual- 
ties 154  occurred  in  coupling  accidents.  The  commissioners  of 
other  States,  especially  of  Iowa,  have  for  years  published  statistics 
showing  nearly  the  same  ratio.  Fortunately  accidents  of  this  class, 
although  numerous,  are  not  proportionately  fatal.  Far  the  greater 
part  of  them  result  in  the  loss  of  part  of  a  hand  ;  but  they  are  so 
frequent  as  to  have  caused  much  discussion,  legislation,  and  inven- 
tion. Several  States  have,  one  time  and  another,  passed  laws  re- 
quiring the  use  of  automatic  couplers  ;  and  two  or  three  years  ago 
there  were  on  record  in  the  United  States  over  four  thousand 
coupler  patents.  The  laws  have  been  futile  because  impracticable  ; 
and  most  of  the  patents  have  been  worthless  for  the  same  reason. 
It  was  obvious  that  the  business  of  supplying  couplers  for  the  one 
million  freight  cars  of  the  country  could  not  be  put  into  the  hands 
of  some  one  patentee  unless  his  device  was  manifestly  and  pre- 
eminently superior  to  all  others.  It  became  important,  therefore, 
to  select  as  a  standard  some  type  of  coupler  general  enough  to  in- 
clude the  patents  of  various  men,  and  at  the  same  time  so  definite 
that  all  couplers  made  to  conform  to  the  standard  could  work  to- 
gether interchangeably.  Those  who  read  Mr.  Voorhees'  story  * 
of  the  wanderings  of  a  freight  car  will  understand  that  any  one 
freight  car  in  the  United  States  or  Canada  should  be  prepared  to 
run  in  the  same  train  with  any  other  car.  A  few  years  ago  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Master  Car-builders'  Association  was  appointed  to 
choose  and  recommend  a  type  of  coupler  to  be  adopted  as  the 
standard  of  the  association.     After  prolonged  and  careful  study  of 

*  See  "  The  Freight-car  Service,"  page  267. 


224 


SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRA  VEL. 


Link-and-pin  Coupler. 


the   subject,  the  committee  recommended   the   type   of  which  the 
Janney  is  the  best  known  example,  and  that  has  now  become  the 

standard  of  the  association.  This 
action  does  not  give  a  monopoly  to 
the  Janney  company,  as  there  are  al- 
ready half  a  dozen  couplers  which 
conform  to  the  type.  This  coupler 
is  shown  by  diagrams  in  the  article 
by  M.  N.  Forney,  page  142.  A  per- 
spective view  is  herewith  given.  This 
device  couples  automatically,  and  thus 
does  away  with  the  necessity  for  the 
brakeman  g-oino-  between  the  cars. 
It  can  also  be  unlocked  by  the  rod 
shown  extending  to  the  side  of  the 
car,  and  the  locking  device  can  be  set 
not  to  couple,  to  facilitate  switching 
and  yard  work.  The  mechanical  principles  of  this  coupler  are  a 
great  and  important  improvement  upon  any  form  of  link-and-pin 
coupler;  and  the  coupler  question  has  now  come  to  this  point: 
A  type  of  coupler  has  been  selected  by  a  technical  body  represent- 
ing most  of  the  railroads  of  the  United  States.  It  is  general 
enough  to  avoid  the 
evils  of  a  patent  mo- 
nopoly. It  promises 
to  be  economical  in 
operation,  and  will 
certainly  do  away 
with  the  terrible  loss 
of  life  and  limb  which 
results  from  the  use 
of  the  non-automatic 
coupler.  The  rail- 
roads are  adopting  it 
with  reasonable 
speed,  perhaps,  but 
not  as  rapidly  as  simple  considerations  of  humanity  would  dictate. 
Closely  related  to  the  coupler  is  the  vestibule,  which  within  the 


Janney  Autonnatic  Coupler  applied  to  a  Freight  Car. 


VESTIBULES  AS  A    SAFETY  DEVICE. 


225 


last  two  years  has  become  so  fashionable.     The  vestibule  is  not 
merely  a  luxury,  but  has  a  certain  value  as  a  safety  device.*     The 


Signals  at  Night. 

full  measure  of  this  value  has  not  yet  been  proved.  Occasionally 
lives  are  lost  by  passengers  falling  from  or  being  blown  from  the 
platforms  of  moving  trains.  Such  accidents  the  vestibule  will  pre- 
vent, and,  further,  it  decreases  the  oscillation  of  the  cars,  and  thus 
to  some  degree  helps  to  prevent  derailment.  It  is  also  some  pro- 
tection against  telescoping.  A  few  months  ago  a  coal  train  on  a 
double-track  road  was  derailed,  and  four  cars  were  thrown  across 
in  front  of  a  solid  vestibule  train  of  seven  Pullman  cars  approach- 
inof  on  the  other  track.  The  engfine  of  the  vestibuled  train  was 
completely  wrecked.  Even  the  sheet-iron  jacket  was  stripped 
off  it.  The  engineer  and  fireman  were  instantly  killed,  but  not 
another  person  on  the  train  was  injured.  They  escaped  partly  be- 
cause the  cars  were  strong,  and  partly,  doubtless,  because  the 
vestibules  helped  to  keep  the  platforms  on  the  same  level  and  in 
line,  and  thus  to  prevent  crushing  of  the  ends  of  the  cars. 

The    number   of  passengers  burned    in   wrecks  is  greatly  ex- 
aggerated in  the  public  mind  ;  but  that  fate  is  so  horrible  that  it  is 

*  See  "  Railway  Passenger  Travel,"  page  249. 
15 


2  26  SAFETY  IN  RAILROAD    TRAVEL. 

not  wonderful  that  "  the  deadly  car-stove  "  should  be  the  object  of 
persistent  and  energetic  attacks  by  the  press  and  in  State  legislat- 
ures. The  result  has  been  the  development,  in  the  last  three 
years,  of  the  entirely  new  business  of  inventing  and  trying  to  sell 
systems  of  heating  by  steam  or  hot  water  from  the  locomotive,  and 
even  by  electricity.  In  fact,  the  manufacture  of  such  apparatus  has 
already  become  an  industry  of  some  importance,  several  thousand 
cars  being  equipped  with  it.  This  whole  matter  of  steam-heating 
is  still  in  a  somewhat  crude  state,  and  it  does  not  seem  desirable  to 
force  it  by  legislation.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  it  is  the 
cheapest  way  of  heating  trains,  and  the  most  easily  regulated  ;  and 
it  has  become  a  good  advertisement  to  attract  passengers.  Con- 
sequently the  whole  subject  may  be  safely  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
railroad  companies,  and  allowed  to  develop  itself  naturally  in  a 
business  way.  There  is  not  yet  any  system  of  continuous  heating 
so  perfected  that  a  railroad  company  could  without  hardship  be 
compelled  to  adopt  it  for  all  its  passenger  equipment. 

Fires  in  wrecked  trains  have  originated  probably  quite  as  often 
from  kerosene  lamps  as  from  the  stoves.  The  danger  of  fire  from 
this  source,  and  the  desire  to  give  passengers  the  luxury  of 
sufficient  light,  have  led  to  methods  of  lighting  by  gas  and,  more 
recently  by  electricity.  Lighting  by  compressed  gas  ceased  years 
ago  to  be  an  experiment.  In  Germany  it  is  almost  universal,  but 
in  this  country  it  has  been  brought  into  use  very  slowly.  The 
system  is  almost  absolutely  safe,  not  unreasonably  expensive,  and 
may  be  made  to  give  satisfactory  and  even  brilliant  illumination  ; 
but  the  ideal  light  for  railroad  trains  will  probably  be  found  in 
electricity.  It  is  even  safer  than  gas,  and  is  the  most  adaptable  of 
any  known  method  of  lighting.  Some  sleeping-cars  that  have  been 
recently  put  in  service  on  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
way are  provided  with  small  electric  lamps  in  the  sides  of  the  car, 
between  each  two  adjoining  seats,  so  that  the  occupants  can  read 
comfortably  either  when  sitting  in  their  seats  or  lying  in  their 
berths. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  so  large  a  subject  as  that  of  safety 
appliances  can  be  exhaustively  treated  within  the  limits  of  one 
article.     It  has  been  thought  best,  therefore,  to  give  most  of  the 


SCOPE    OF  THE   SUBJECT.  227 

space  available  to  the  two  or  three  devices  of  greatest  and  most 
useful  application.  There  remain  various  others  that  are  in  daily 
use,  and  that  have  important  offices,  which  have  not  even  been 
mentioned.  If  the  reader  has  gleaned  from  these  very  incomplete 
notes  some  clearer  notions  than  he  had  before  of  the  means  by 
which  the  power  of  the  locomotive  is  guided  into  safe  and  useful 
paths,  the  writer's  object  has  been  accomplished. 


RAILWAY  PASSENGER  TRAVEL. 


By  HORACE   PORTER. 


The  Earliest  Railway  Passenger  Advertisement — The  First  Time-table  Published  in 
America — The  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Train — Survival  of  Stage-coach  Terms  in  Eng- 
lish Railway  Nomenclature — Simon  Cameron's  Rash  Prediction — Discomforts  of 
Early  Cars — Introduction  of  Air-brakes,  Patent  Buffers  and  Couplers,  the  Bell-cord, 
and  Interlocking  Switches — The  First  Sleeping-cars — Mr.  Pullman's  Experiments — ■ 
The  "  Pioneer  "—Introduction  of  Parlor  and  Drawing-room  Cars — The  Demand  for 
Dining-cars — Ingenious  Devices  for  Heating  Cars — Origin  of  Vestibule-cars — An 
Important  Safety  Appliance — The  Luxuries  of  a  Limited  Express — Fast  Time  in 
America  and  England — Sleeping-cars  for  Immigrants — The  Village  of  Pullman — The 
Largest  Car-works  in  the  World — Baggage-checks  and  Coupon  Tickets — Conven- 
iences in  a  Modern  Depot — Statistics  in  Regard  to  Accidents — Proportion  of  Pas- 
sengers in  Various  Classes — Comparison  of  Rates  in  the  Leading  Countries  of  the 
World. 

I  ROM  the  time  when  Puck  was  supposed  to 
utter  his  boast  to  put  a  girdle  round  about 
the  earth  in  forty  minutes  to  the  time  when 
Jules  Verne's  itinerant  hero  accomplished  the 
task  in  twice  that  number  of  days,  the  restless 
ingenuity  and  energy  of  man  have  been  unceas- 
ingly taxed  to  increase  the  speed,  comfort,  and  safety 
of  passenger  travel.  The  first  railway  on  which  pas- 
sengers were  carried  was  the  "  Stockton  &  Darlington,"  of  Eng- 
land, the  distance  being  12  miles.  It  was  opened  September  27, 
1825,  with  a  freight  train,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  England,  a  "  goods  " 
train,  but  which  also  carried  a  number  of  excursionists.  An  engine 
which  was  the  result  of  many  years  of  labor  and  experiment  on  the 
part  of  George  Stephenson  was  used  on  this  train.  Stephenson 
mounted  it  and  acted  as  driver ;  his  bump  of  caution  was  evidently 
largely  developed,  for,  to  guard  against  accidents  from  the  reck- 
lessness of  the  speed,  he  arranged  to  have  a  signalman  on  horse- 
back ride  in  advance  of  the  engine  to  warn  the  luckless  trespasser 


THE  FIRST  PASSENGER   ADVERTISEMENT 


229 


Stockton  &  Darlington  Engine  and  Car. 

of  the  fate  which  awaited  him  if  he  should  get  in  the  way  of  a 
train  moving-  with  such  a  starthng  velocity.  The  next  month, 
October,  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  w^orth  while  to  attempt 
the  carrying  of  passengers,  and  a  daily  "  coach,"  modelled  after 
the  stage-coach  and  called  the  "  Experiment,"  was  put  on,  Mon- 
day, October  10,  1825,  which  carried  six  passengers  inside  and 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  outside.  The  engine  with  its  light  load 
made  the  trip  in  about  two  hours.  The  fare  from  Stockton  to 
Darlington  was  one  shilling,  and  each  passenger  was  allowed  four- 
teen pounds  of  baggage.  The  limited  amount  of  baggage  will  ap- 
pear to  the  ladies  of  the  present  day  as  niggardly  in  the  extreme, 
but  they  must  recollect  that  the 


bandbox  was  then  the  popular 
form  of  portmanteau  for  women, 
the  Saratoga  trunk  had  not  been 
invented,  and  the  muscular  bag- 
gage-smasher of  modern  times 
had  not  yet  set  out  upon  his 
career  of  destruction.  The  ad- 
vertisement which  was  published 
m  the  newspapers  of  the  day  is  here  given,  and  is  of  peculiar  interest 
as  announcing  the  first  successful  attempt  to  carry  passengers  by  rail. 


Stockton  d^  llarlinis;ton 

Raj  I  way* 


^COACHi^ 


230  RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 

The  Liverpool  &  Manchester  road  was  opened  in  1829. 
The  first  train  was  hauled  by  an  improved  engine  called  the 
"  Rocket,"  which  attained  a  speed  of  25  miles  an  hour,  and  some 
records  put  it  as  high  as  35  miles.  This  speed  naturally  attracted 
marked  attention  in  the  mechanical  world,  and  first  demonstrated 
the  superior  advantages  of  railways  for  passenger  travel.  Only 
four  years  before,  so  eminent  a  writer  upon  railways  as  Wood  had 
said  :  "  Nothing  can  do  more  harm  to  the  adoption  of  railways 
than  the  promulgation  of  such  nonsense  as  that  we  shall  see  loco- 
motives travelling  at  the  rate  of  12  miles  an  hour." 

America  was  quick  to  adopt  the  railway  system  which  had  had 
its  origin  in  England.  In  1827  a  crude  railway  was  opened  be- 
tween Quincy  and  Boston,  but  it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
porting granite  for  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  It  was  not  until 
August,  1829,  that  a  locomotive  engine  was  used  upon  an  Ameri- 
can railroad  suitable  for  carrying  passengers.  This  road  was  con- 
structed by  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Company,  and  the 
experiment  was  made  near  Honesdale,  Pa.  The  engine  was  im- 
ported from  England  and  was  called  the  "  Stourbridge  Lion." 

In  May,  1830,  the  first  division  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  road 
was  opened.  It  extended  from  Baltimore  to  Ellicott's  Mills,  a  dis- 
tance of  15  miles.  There  being  a  scarcity  of  cars,  the  regular  pas- 
senger business  did  not  begin  till  the  5th  of  July  following,  and 
then  only  horse-power  was  employed,  which  continued  to  be  used 
till  the  road  was  finished  to  Frederick,  in  1832.  The  term  Relay 
House,  the  name  of  a  well-known  station,  originated  in  the  fact 
that  the  horses  were  changed  at  that  place. 

The  following  notice,  which  appeared  in  the  Baltimore  news- 
papers, was  the  first  time-table  for  passenger  railway  trains  pub- 
lished in  this  country; 

RAILROAD  NOTICE. 

A  sufficient  number  of  cars  being  now  provided  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers, 
notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  following  arrangements  for  the  arrival  and  departure  of  car- 
riages have  been  adopted,  and  will  take  effect  on  and  after  Monday  morning  next  the  5th 
instant,  viz.  : 

A  brigade  of  cars  will  leave  the  depot  on  Pratt  St.  at  6  and  10  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  at  3 
to  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  will  leave  the  depot  at  Ellicott's  Mills  at  6  and  8^  o'clock  A.  M., 
and  at  12^  and  6  P.  M. 

Way  passengers  will  provide  themselves  with  tickets  at  the  office  of  the  Company  in 


EARLY  PASSENGER    CARS.  23 1 

Baltimore,  or  at  the  depots  at  Pratt  St.  and  Ellicott's  Mills,  or  at  the  Relay  House,  near 
Elk  Ridge  Landing. 

The  evening  way  car  for  Ellicott's  Mills  will  continue  to  leave  the  depot,  Pratt  St.,  at 
6  o'clock  P.  M.  as  usual. 

N.  B.  Positive  orders  have  been  issued  to  the  drivers  to  receive  no  passengers  into 
any  of  the  cars  without  tickets. 

P.  S.     Parties  desiring  to  engage  a  car  for  the  day  can  be  accommodated  after  July  5th. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  word  train  was  not  used,  but  instead 
the  schedule  spoke  of  a  "brigade  of  cars." 

The  South  Carolina  Railroad  was  besfun  about  the  same  time 
as  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  and  ran  from  Charleston  to  Hamburg, 
opposite  Augusta,  When  the  first  division  had  been  constructed, 
it  was  opened  November  2,  1830. 

Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  had  before  this  constructed  a  lo- 
comotive and  made  a  trial  trip  with  it  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1830,  but,  not  meeting  the  require- 
ments of  the  company,  it  was  not  put  into  service. 

A  passenger  train  of  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Railroad  which 
was  put  on  in  October, 

named     the     "John  .,  .    .  .  ^  .     t  • 

-'  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Train. 

Bull,"   and   driven    by 

an  English  engineer  named  John  Hampson.  This  is  generally 
regarded  as  the  first  fully  equipped  passenger  train  hauled  by  a 
steam-power  engine  which  ran  in  regular  service  in  America. 
During  1832  it  carried  an  average  of  '^Z'j  passengers  daily.  The 
accompanying  engraving  is  from  a  sketch  made  at  the  time. 

It  was  said  by  an  advocate  of  mechanical  evolution  that  the 
modern  steam  fire-engine  was  evolved  from  the  ancient  leathern 
fire-bucket;  it  might  be  said  with  greater  truth  that  the  modern 
railway  car  has  been  evolved  from  the  old-fashioned  English  stage- 
coach. 

England  still  retains  the  railway  carriage  divided  into  compart- 
ments, that  bear  a  close  resemblance  inside  and  outside  to  staee- 
coach  bodies  with  the  middle  seat  omitted.      In  fact,  the  nomen- 


232 


RAIL  WA  V  PASSENGER   TRA  VEL. 


clature  of  the  stage-coach  is  in  large  measure  still  preserved  in 
England.  The  engineer  is  called  the  driver,  the  conductor  the 
guard,  the  ticket-office  is  the  booking-office,  the  cars  are  the  car- 


English   Railway  Carriage,  Midland    Road.      Fust  and   Tnird   Class  and   Luggage   Compartments. 


riages,  and  a  rustic  traveller  may  still  be  heard  occasionally  to  ob- 
ject to  sitting  with  his  back  to  the  horses.  The  earlier  locomotives, 
like  horses,  were  given  proper  names,  such  as  Lion,  North  Star, 
Fiery,  and  Rocket ;  the  compartments  in  the  round-houses  for 
sheltering  locomotives  are  termed  the  stalls,  and  the  keeper  of  the 
round-house  is  called  the  hostler.  The  last  two  are  the  only  items 
of  equine  classification  which  the  American  railway  system  has 
permanently  adopted. 

America,  at  an  early  day,  departed  not  only  from  the  nomen- 
clature of  the  turnpike,  but  from  the  stage-coach  architecture,  and 
adopted  a  long  car  in  one  compartment  and  containing  a  mid- 
dle aisle  which  admitted  of  communication  throughout  the  train. 
The  car  was  carried  on  two  trucks,  or  bogies,  and  was  well  adapted 
to  the  sharp  curvature  which'  prevailed  upon  our  railways. 

The  first  five  years  of  experience  showed  marked  progress  in 
the  practical  operation  of  railway  trains,  but  even  after  locomotives 
had  demonstrated  their  capabilities  and  each  improved  engine  had 
shown  an  encouraging  increase  in  velocity,  the  wildest  flights  of 
fancy  never  pictured  the  speed  attained  in  later  years. 

When  the  roads  forming  the  line  between  Philadelphia  and 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  were  chartered  in  1835,  and  town  meetings  were 
held  to  discuss  their  practicability,  the  Honorable  Simon  Cameron, 
while   making  a  speech  in  advocacy  of  the  measure,  was  so  far 


SIMON  CAMERON'S  PREDICTION 


233 


Ear.itst    Passenger   Cars   Built   in   this   Country  ;    used    on    tne    Western 
Railroad  of   Massacfiusetts  (now  the   Boston  &  Albany). 


carried  away  by 

his    enthusiasm 

as  to  make  the 

rash   prediction 

that  there  were 

persons    within 

the  sound  of  his 

voice  who  would 

Hve    to    see    a 

passenger   take 

his  breakfast  in 

Harrisburg  and 

his     supper     in 

Philadelphia  on  the  same  day.     A  friend  of  his  on  the  platform 

said  to  him  after  he  had  finished :   "  That's  all  very  well,  Simon, 

to  tell  to  the  boys,  but  you  and  I  are  no  such  infernal  fools  as  to 

believe  it."     They  both  lived  to  travel  the  distance  in  a  little  over 

two  hours. 

The  people  were  far  from  being  unanimous  in  their  advocacy 
of  the  railway  system,  and  charters  were  not  obtained  without  se- 
vere struggles.  The  topic  was  the  universal  subject  of  discussion 
in  all  popular  assemblages.  Colonel  Blank,  a  well-known  politi- 
cian in  Pennsylvania,  had  been  loud  in  his  opposition  to  the  new 
means  of  transportation.  When  one  of  the  first  trains  was  running 
over  the  Harrisburg  &  Lancaster  road,  a  famous  Durham  bull 
belonging  to  a  Mr.    Schultz   became   seized   with  the  enterprising 

spirit  of  Don  Quixote, 
put  his  head  down  and 
tail  up,  and  made  a 
desperate  charge  at 
the  on-coming  loco- 
motive, but  his  steam- 
breathing  opponent 
proved  the  better  but- 
ter of  the  two  and  the 
bull  was  ignominious- 
ly  defeated.  At  a  public  banquet  held  soon  after  in  that  part  of 
the  State,  the  toast-master  proposed  a  toast  to   "  Colonel  Blank 


234 


RAILWAY  FASSENGEJ^    TRAVEL. 


and  Schultz's  bull — both  op- 
posed to  railroad  trains."  The 
joke  was  widely  circulated  and 
had  much  to  do  with  complet- 
ing" the  discomfiture  of  the 
opposition  in  the  following 
elections. 

The  railroad  was  a  de- 
cided step  in  advance,  com- 
pared with  the  stage-coach 
and  canal-boat,  but,  when  we 
picture  the  surroundings  of 
the  traveller  upon  railways 
during  the  first  ten  or  fif- 
teen years  of  their  existence, 
we  find  his  journey  was  not 
one  to   be   envied.     He  was 


Rail  and  Coach  Travel  in  the  White   Mountains. 


jammed  into  a  narrow  seat  with  a  stiff  back,  the  deck  of  the  car 
was  low  and  flat,  and  ventilation  in  winter  impossible.  A  stove  at 
each  end  did  little  more  than  generate  carbonic  oxide.  The  pas- 
senger roasted  if  he  sat  at  the  end  of  the  car,  and  froze  if  he  sat 
in  the  middle.  Tallow  candles  furnished  a  "  dim  religious  light," 
but  the  accompanying  odor  did  not  savor  of  cathedral  incense. 
The  dust  was  suffocating  in  dry  weather  ;   there  were  no  adequate 


DISCOMFORTS    OF   OLD   CARS. 


235 


RAIL-ROAD  ROUTE 


spark-arresters  on  the  engine,  or  screens  at  the  windows,  and  the 
begrimed  passenger  at  the  end  of  his  journey  looked  as  if  he  had 
spent  the  day  in  a  blacksmith-shop.  Recent  experiments  in  ob- 
taining a  spectrum-analysis  of  the  component  parts  of  a  quantity  of 
dust  collected  in  a  railway  car  show  that  minute  particles  of  iron 
form  a  large  proportion,  and  under  the  microscope  present  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  collection  of  tenpenny  nails.  As  iron  administered 
to  the  human  system  through  the  respiratory  organs  in  the  form 
of  tenpenny  nails  mixed  with  other  undesirable  matter  is  not  espe- 
cially recommended  by  medical  practitioners,  the  sanitary  surround- 
ings of  the  primitive 
railway  car  cannot  be 
commended.  There 
were  no  double  tracks, 
and  no  telegraph  to 
facilitate  the  safe  de- 
spatching of  trains. 
The  springs  of  the  car 
were  hard,  the  jolting 
intolerable,  the  win- 
dows rattled  like  those 
of  the  modern  omni- 
bus, and  conversation 
was  a  luxury  that 
could  be  indulged  in 
only  by  those  of  rec- 
ognized superiority  in 
lung  power.  The 
brakes  were  clumsy 
and  of  little  service. 
The  ends  of  the  flat- 


m  mm-mmm  \\  wm  m  10.  i«i3. 

Those  -who  pay  fhrovgk  TjctH-een  Albanj-  and  Buffalo,  •  $  1 0.  in  the  best  cars, 

""■    ,,.  T.,      ^"-i  *""•,        ,.       ,     8.  in  accomodation  cars, 

^vlucJl  have  oeenTe-arranged,  cashioncd  and  li?hre<]. 
Those  who  pay  through  "brtwecn  Albany  &.  Rochester,  §8.  in  the  hest  cars. 

"°-  ^"-  do-  CSOinaccomodatloncars. 


essss^  s^aa'g?  asss^iSa 
irciDiiiglli  flm  SS  IhcDmiPSo 


GOKG  WEST. 

GOING  EAST. 

tn  Trijd       2d  Triitl 
heme      Albiny.           6  A.M.    UP.  M. 

i!  train. 

7;  P.  »L 

_       _                   Uitnia       JdTnM, 

MTfiift 

Pau        S.hentcUilr,  71  A.  H.   3  P.  M. 

9  P.  M. 

Pan 

Hochester.      9JA.M.    3  P.  M 

Pus        Ulic              1;  P.  .M.   3  f.  M. 

4  A.  ,M. 

Pus 

Pus        STratuse.        S;  P.  M.    2  A.  .M. 

S  A.  .M. 

Pass 

Pus        Auborn,           7  P.  M.    4  A  M 

10  A   M. 

J>ass 

tuca,                9; P.M.    4SA.M. 

P»M         Richeslcr,      2  A.  .M.  10  X.  M. 

4  P.  M. 

PiiS 

Schencctwiy.  3i  A.  M.  JO  A.  M. 

Airiw  11  Buffalo.           ^A.-^.    3  P.M. 

9  P.  M. 

Arrive 

at  Albany,            5  A.  M.I  I   AM. 

4iP.  M. 

E2ISMMTS  viu  K  SMJis  mn  m  mmi  m^imi. 


Passengers  will  jirocure  tickets  at  the  offices  at  Jllbany,  BuBhJo  or  Rochester 
through,  to  be  entitled  to  seats  at  the  redaced  rates. 

Tare  will  be  received  at  each  of  the  above  places  to  any  other  places 
named  on  the  route. 


bar  rails  were  cut 
diagonally,  so  that 
when  laid  down  they 
would  lap  and  form  a 
smoother  joint.  Oc- 
casionally they  became  sprung ;  the  spikes  would  not  hold,  and 
the  end  of  the  rail  with  its  sharp  point  rose  high  enough  for  the 


From  an  Old  Time-table  (furnished  by  the  "A  B  C  Pathfinder  Railway  Guide"). 


236 


RAILWAY  PASSENGER   TRAVEL. 


Old    Boston   &  Worcester  Railway  Ticket  (about    1837J. 


wheel  to  run   under   it,    rip  it  loose,   and   send   the    pointed    end 
through  the  floor  of  the  car.     This  was  called  a  "  snake's  head," 

and  the  unlucky  being  sit- 
ting over  it  was  likely  to  be 
impaled  against  the  roof. 
So  that  the  traveller  of  that 
day,  in  addition  to  his  other 
miseries,  was  in  momentary 
apprehension  of  being  spit- 
ted like  a  Christmas  turkey. 
Baggage-checks  and  cou- 
pon tickets  were  unknown. 
Long  trips  had  to  be  made  over  lines  composed  of  a  number  of  short 
independent  railways ;  and  at  the  terminus  of  each  the  bedevilled 
passenger  had  to  transfer,  purchase  another  ticket,  personally  pick 
out  his  baggage,  perhaps  on  an  uncovered  platform  in  a  rain-storm, 
and  take  his  chances  of  securing  a  seat  in  the  train  in  which  he 
was  to  continue  his  weary  journey. 

After  the  principal  companies  had  sent  agents  to  Europe  to 
gather  all  the  information  possible  regarding  the  progress  made 
there,  they  soon  began  to  aim  at  perfecting  what  may  justly  be 
called  the  American  system  of  railways.  The  roadbed,  or  what  in 
England  is  called  the  "  permanent  way,"  was  constructed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  new  country,  and 
the  equipment  was  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  people.  In  no 
branch  of  industry  has  the  inventive  genius  of  the  race  been  more 
skilfully  or 
more  success- 
fully employ- 
ed than  in  the 
effort  to  bring 
railway  travel 

to     Its     present  obverse  and   Reverse  of  a  Ticket  Used   in    1838,  on  the   New  York  &  Harlem   Railroad. 

state    of   per- 
fection.     Every  year  has  shown  progress  in  perfecting  the  comforts 
and  safety  of  the  railway  car.     In  1849  the  Hodge  hand-brake  was 
introduced,  and  in  1851  the  Stevens  brake.    These  enabled  the  cars 
to   be   controlled   in   a  manner  which  added  much  to  the  economy 


BRAKES  AND   COUPLERS.  237 

and  safety  of  handling-  the  trains.  In  1869  George  Westinghouse 
patented  his  air-brake,  by  which  power  from  the  engine  was  trans- 
mitted by  compressed  air  carried  through  hose  and  acting  upon  the 
brakes  of  each  car  in  the  train.*  It  was  under  the  control  of  the 
engineer,  and  its  action  was  so  prompt  and  its  power  so  effectual 
that  a  train  could  be  stopped  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  and  the 
brakes  released  in  an  instant.  In  1871  the  vacuum-brake  was  de- 
vised, by  means  of  which  the  power  was  applied  to  the  brakes  by 
exhausting  the  air. 

A  difficulty  under  which  railways  suffered  for  many  years  was 
the  method  of  coupling  cars.  The  ordinary  means  consisted  of 
coupling-pins  inserted  into  links  attached  to  the  cars.  There  was 
a  great  deal  of  "  slack,"  the  jerking  of  the  train  in  consequence  was 
very  objectionable,  and  the  distance  between  the  platforms  of  the 
cars  made  the  crossing-  of  them  dangerous.  In  collisions  one  plat- 
form was  likely  to  rise  above  that  of  the  adjoining  car,  and  "  tele- 
scoping "  was  not  an  uncommon  occurrence. 

The  means  of  warning  passengers  against  standing  on  the  plat- 
form were  characteristic  of  the  dangers  which  threatened,  and  were 
often  ingenious  in  the  devices  for  attracting  attention.  ,  On  a  New 
Jersey  road  there  was  painted  on  the  car-door  a  picture  of  a  new- 
made  orrave,  with  a  formidable  tombstone,  on  which  was  an  in- 
scription  announcing  to  a  terrified  public  that  it  was  "  Sacred  to  the 
memory  of  the  man  who  had  stood  on  a  platform." 

The  Miller  coupler  and  buffer  was  patented  in  1863,  and  obvi- 
ated many  of  the  discomforts  and  dangers  arising  from  the  old 
methods  of  coupling.  This  was  followed  by  the  Janney  coupler  f 
and  a  number  of  other  devices,  the  essential  principle  of  all  being 
an  automatic  arrangement  by  which  the  two  knuckles  of  the  coupler 
when  thrust  together  become  securely  locked,  and  a  system  of 
springs  which  keep  the  buffers  in  close  contact  and  prevent  jerking 
and  jarring  when  the  train  is  in  motion. 

The  introduction  of  the  bell-cord  running  through  the  train  and 
enabling  conductors  to  communicate  promptly  by  means  of  it  with 
the  engineer,  and  signal  him  in  case  of  danger,  constitutes  another 
source  of  safety,  but  is  still  a  wonder  to  Europeans,  who  cannot  un- 

*  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  195. 

t  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  224;  also,  "  American  Locomotives  and  Cars,"  page  142. 


238  RAIL  WA  Y  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL. 

derstand  why  passengers  do  not  tamper  with  it,  and  how  they  can 
resist  the  temptation  to  give  false  signals  by  means  of  it.  The  only 
answer  is  that  our  people  are  educated  up  to  it,  and  being  accustomed 
to  govern  themselves,  they  do  not  require  any  restraint  to  make 
them  respect  so  useful  a  device.  Aside  from  the  inconveniences 
which  used  to  arise  occasionally  from  a  rustic  mistaking  the  bell- 
cord  for  a  clothes-rack,  and  hanging  his  overcoat  over  it,  or  from 
an  old  gentleman  grabbing  hold  of  it  to  help  him  climb  into  an 
upper  berth  in  a  sleeping-car,  it  has  been  singularly  exempt  from 
efforts  to  pervert  it  to  unintended  uses. 

The  application  of  the  magnetic  telegraph  to  railways  wrought 
the  first  great  revolution  in  despatching  trains,  and  introduced  an 
element  of  promptness  and  safety  in  their  operation  of  which  the  most 
sanguine  of  railroad  advocates  had  never  dreamed.  The  applica- 
tion of  electricity  was  gradually  availed  of  in  many  ingenious  signal 
devices  for  both  day  and  night  service,  to  direct  the  locomotive  en- 
gineer in  running  his  train,  and  interpose  precautions  against  acci- 
dents. Fusees  have  also  been  called  into  requisition,  which  burn 
with  a  bright  flame  a  given  length  of  time;  and  when  a  train  is  be- 
hind time  and  followed  by  another,  by  igniting  one  of  these  lights, 
and  leaving  it  on  the  track,  the  train  following  can  tell  by  not- 
ing the  time  of  burning  about  how  near  it  is  the  preceding  train. 
Torpedoes  left  upon  the  track,  which  explode  when  passed  over  by 
the  wheels  of  a  following  train  and  warn  it  of  its  proximity  to  a 
train  ahead,  are  also  used. 

In  the  early  days  more  accidents  arose  from  switches  than  from 
any  other  cause  ;  but  improvement  in  their  construction  has  pro- 
gressed until  it  would  seem  that  the  dangers  have  been  effectually 
overcome.  The  split-rail  switch  prevents  a  train  from  being  thrown 
off  the  track  in  case  the  switch  is  left  open,  and  the  result  is  that 
in  such  an  event  the  train  is  only  turned  on  another  track.  The 
Wharton  switch,  which  leaves  the  main  line  unbroken,  marks 
another  step  in  the  march  of  improvement.  Among  other  de- 
vices is  a  complete  interlocking-switch  system,  by  means  of  which 
one  man  standing  in  a  switch-tower,  overlooking  a  large  yard  with 
numerous  tracks,  over  which  trains  arrive  and  depart  every  few 
minutes,  can,  by  moving  a  system  of  levers,  open  any  required 
track  and  by  the  same  motion  block  all  the  others,  and  prevent 


FIRST  EXPERIMENT  IN  SLEEPING    CARS.  239 

the  possibility  of  collisions  or  other  accidents  resulting  from  trains 
entering  upon  the  wrong  track.* 

The  steam-boats  on  our  larg-e  rivers  had  been  makino-  o-reat 
progress  in  the  comforts  afforded  to  passengers.  They  were  pro- 
viding berths  to  sleep  in,  serving  meals  in  spacious  cabins,  and 
giving  musical  entertainments  and  dancing  parties  on  board.  The 
railroads  soon  began  to  learn  a  lesson  from  them  in  adding  to  the 
comforts  of  the  travelling  public. 

The  first  attempt  to  furnish  the  railway  passenger  a  place  to 
sleep  while  on  his  journey  was  made  upon  the  Cumberland  Valley 
Railroad  of  Pennsylvania,  between  Harrisburg  and  Chambersburg. 
In  the  winter  season  the  east-bound  passengers  arrived  at  Cham- 
bersburg late  at  night  by  stage-coach,  and  as  they  were  exhausted 
by  a  fatiguing  trip  over  the  mountains  and  many  wished  to  con- 
tinue their  journey  to  Harrisburg  to  catch  the  morning  train  for 
Philadelphia,  it  became  very  desirable  to  furnish  sleeping  accom- 
modations aboard  the  cars.  The  officers  of  this  road  fitted  up  a 
passenger  car  with  a  number  of  berths,  and  put  it  into  service  as  a 
sleeping-car  in  the  winter  of  \Z2)6-2,']'  It  was  exceedingly  crude 
and  primitive  in  construction.  It  was  divided  by  transverse  parti- 
tions into  four  sections,  and  each  contained  three  berths — a  lower, 
middle,  and  upper  berth.  This  car  was  used  until  1848  and  then 
abandoned. 

About  this  time  there  were  also  experiments  made  in  fitting 
up  cars  with  berths  something  like  those  in  a  steam-boat  cabin, 
but  these  crude  attempts  did  not  prove  attractive  to  travellers. 
There  were  no  bedclothes  furnished,  and  only  a  coarse  mattress 
and  pillow  were  supplied,  and  with  the  poor  ventilation  and  the 
rattling  and  jolting  of  the  car  there  was  not  much  comfort  afford- 
ed, except  a  means  of  resting  in  a  position  which  was  somewhat 
more  endurable  than  a  sitting  posture. 

Previous  to  the  year  1858  a  few  of  the  leading  railways  had 
put  on  sleeping-cars  which  made  some  pretensions  to  meet  a 
growing  want  of  the  travelling  public,  but  they  were  still  crude, 
uncomfortable,  and  unsatisfactory  in  their  arrangements  and  ap- 
pointments. 

In  the  year   1858  George  M.   Pullman  entered  a  train  of  the 

*  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  204. 


240  RAIL  WA  V  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL.  _ 

Lake  Shore  Railroad  at  Buffalo,  to  make  a  trip  to  Chicago.     It 
happened  that  a  new  sleeping-car  which  had  been  built  for  the 


The  "  Pioneer."     First  complete   Pullman   Sleeping-car. 


railroad  company  was  attached  to  this  train  and  was  making  its 
first  trip.  Mr.  Pullman  stepped  in  to  take  a  look  at  it,  and  finally 
decided  to  test  this  new  form  of  luxury  by  passing  the  night  in 
one  of  its  berths.  He  was  tossed  about  in  a  manner  not  very  con- 
ducive to  the  "folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep,"  and  he  turned  out 
before  daylight  and  took  refuge  upon  a  seat  in  the  end  of  the  car. 
He  now  began  to  ponder  upon  the  subject,  and  before  the  journey 
ended  he  had  conceived  the  notion  that,  in  a  country  of  magnifi- 
cent distances  like  this,  a  great  boon  could  be  offered  to  travellers 
by  the  construction  of  cars  easily  convertible  into  comfortable  and 
convenient  day  or  night  coaches,  and  supplied  with  such  appoint- 
ments as  would  give  the  occupants  practically  the  same  comforts  as 
were  afforded  by  the  steam-boats.  He  began  experiments  in  this 
direction  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  and  in  1859  altered 
some  day-cars  on  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad,  and  converted 
them  into  sleeping-cars  which  were  a  marked  step  in  advance  of 
similar  cars  previously  constructed.  They  were  successful  in 
meeting  the  wants  of  passengers  at  that  time,  but  Mr.  Pullman  did 
not  consider  them  in  any  other  light  than  experiments.  One 
night,  after  they  had  made  a  few  trips  on  the  line  between  Chicago 
and  St.  Louis,  a  tall,  angular-looking  man  entered  one  of  the  cars 
while  Mr.  Pullman  was  aboard,  and  after  asking  a  great  many  in- 
telligent questions  about  the  inventions,  finally  said  he  thought  he 
would  try  what  the  thing  was  like,  and  stowed  himself  away  in  an 
upper  berth.     This  proved  to  be  Abraham  Lincoln. 


PULLMAN'S  FIRST  COMPLETE   SLEEPER. 


241 


In  1864  Mr.  Pullman  perfected  his  plans  for  a  car  which  was  to 
be  a  marked  and  radical  departure  from  any  one  ever  before  at- 
tempted, and  that  year  invested  his  capital  in  the  construction  of 
what  may  be  called  the  father  of  the  Pullman  cars.  He  built  it  in 
a  shed  in  the  yard  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  at  a  cost  of 
$18,000,  named  it  the  "Pioneer,"  and  designated  it  by  the  letter 
"A."  It  did  not  then  occur  to  anyone  that  there  would  ever  be 
enough  sleeping-cars  introduced  to  exhaust  the  whole  twenty-six 
letters  of  the  alphabet.  The  sum  expended  upon  it  was  naturally 
looked  upon  as  fabulous  at  a  time  when  such  sleeping-cars  as 
were  used  could  be  built  for 
about  $4,500.  The  constructor 
of  the  "  Pioneer"  aimed  to  pro- 
duce a  car  which  would  prove 
acceptable  in  every  respect  to 
the  travelling  public.  It  had 
improved  trucks  and  a  raised 
deck,  and  was  built  a  foot  wider 
and  two  and  a  half  feet  higher 
than  any  car  then  in  service. 
He  deemed  this  necessary  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  a 
hinged  upper  berth,  which,  when 
fastened  up,  formed  a  recess  be- 
hind it  for  stowing  the  necessary 
bedding  in  the  daytime.  Before 
that  the  mattresses  had  been 
piled  in  one  end  of  the  car,  and 
had  to  be  dragged  through  the 
aisle  when  wanted.  It  was 
known  to  him  that  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  bridges  and  station-platforms  would  not  admit  of  its 
passing  over  the  line,  but  he  was  singularly  confident  in  the  belief 
that  an  attractive  car,  constructed  upon  correct  principles,  would  find 
its  way  into  service  against  all  obstacles.  It  so  happened  that  soon 
after  the  car  was  finished,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  the  body  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  arrived  at  Chicago,  and  the  "  Pioneer"  was  wanted 

for  the  funeral  train  which  was  to  take  it  to  Springfield.     To  en- 

16 


242  RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 

able  the  car  to  pass  over  the  road,  the  station-platforms  and  other 
obstructions  were  reduced  in  size,  and  thereafter  the  line  was  in  a 
condition  to  put  the  car  into  service.  A  few  months  afterward 
General  Grant  was  making  a  trip  West  to  visit  his  home  in  Galena, 
111.,  and  as  the  railway  companies  were  anxious  to  take  him  from 
Detroit  to  his  destination  in  the  car  which  had  now  become  quite 
celebrated,  the  station-platforms  along  the  line  were  widened  for 
the  purpose,  and  thus  another  route  was  opened  to  its  passage. 

The  car  was  now  put  into  regular  service  on  the  Alton  road. 
Its  popularity  fully  realized  the  anticipations  of  its  owner,  and  its 
size  became  the  standard  for  the  future  Pullman  cars  as  to  height 
and  width,  though  they  have  since  been  increased  in  length. 

The  railroad  company  entered  into  an  agreement  to  have  this 
car,  and  a  number  of  others  which  were  immediately  built,  oper- 
ated upon  its  lines.  They  were  marvels  of  beauty,  and  their  con- 
struction embraced  patents  of  such  ingenuity  and  originality  that 
they  attracted  marked  attention  in  the  railroad  world  and  created 
a  new  departure  in  the  method  of  travel. 

In  1867  Mr.  Pullman  formed  the  Pullman  Car  Company  and 
devoted  it  to  carrying  out  an  idea  which  he  had  conceived,  of  or- 
ganizing a  system  by  which  passengers  could  be  carried  in  luxu- 
rious cars  of  uniform  pattern,  adequate  to  the  wants  of  both  night 
and  day  travel,  which  would  run  through  without  change  between 
far-distant  points  and  over  a  number  of  distinct  lines  of  railway,  in 
charge  of  responsible  through  agents,  to  whom  ladies,  children, 
and  invalids  could  be  safely  intrusted.  This  system  was  especially 
adapted  to  a  country  of  such  geographical  extent  as  America.  It 
supplied  an  important  want,  and  the  travelling  public  and  the  rail- 
ways were  prompt  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages. 

Parlor  or  drawing-room  cars  were  next  introduced  for  day  runs, 
which  added  greatly  to  the  luxury  of  travel,  enabling  passengers 
to  secure  seats  in  advance,  and  enjoy  many  comforts  which  were 
not  found  in  ordinary  cars.  Sleeping  and  parlor  cars  were  soon 
recognized  as  an  essential  part  of  a  railway's  equipment  and  be- 
came known  as  "  palace  cars." 

The  Wagner  Car  Company  was  organized  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  was  early  in  the  field  in  furnishing  this  class  of  vehicles. 
It  has  supplied  all  the  cars  of  this  kind  used  upon  the  Vanderbilt 


THE    WAGNER,  AND    OTHER   COMPANIES. 


243 


system  of  railways  and  a  number  of  its  connecting-  roads.     Several 
smaller  palace-car  companies  have  also  engaged  in  the  business  at 


Pullman   Paflor  Car. 


different  times.  A  few  roads  have  operated  their  own  cars  of  this 
class,  but  the  business  is  generally  regarded  as  a  specialty,  and  the 
railway  companies  recognize  the  advantages  and  conveniences  re- 
sulting from  the  ability  of  a  large  car-company  to  meet  the  irregu- 
larities of  travel,  which  require  a  large  equipment  at  one  season  and 
a  small  one  at  another,  to  furnish  an  additional  supply  of  cars  for  a 
sudden  demand,  and  to  perform  satisfactorily  the  business  of  oper- 
ating through  cars  in  lines  composed  of  many  different  railways. 

Next  came  a  demand  for  cars  in  which  meals  could  be  served. 
Why,  it  was  said,  should  a  train  stop  at  a  station  for  meals  any 
more  than  a   steamboat   tie    up    to    a    wharf  for   the    same    pur- 


244 


RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 


Wagner  Parlor  Car. 


pose  ?  The  Pullman  Company  now  introduced  the  hotel-car,  which 
was  practically  a  sleeping-car  with  a  kitchen  and  pantries  in  one  end 
and  portable  tables  which  could  be  placed  between  the  seats  of 
each  section  and  upon  which  meals  could  be  conveniently  served. 
The  first  hotel-car  was  named  the  "  President,"  and  was  put  into 
service  on  the  Great  Western  Railway  of  Canada,  in  1867,  and  soon 
after  several  popular  lines  were  equipped  with  this  new  addition  to 
the  luxuries  of  travel. 

After  this  came  the  dining-car,  which  was  still  another  step  be- 
yond the  hotel-car.  It  was  a  complete  restaurant,  having  a  large 
kitchen  and  pantries  in  one  end,  with  the  main  body  of  the  car 
fitted  up  as  a  commodious  dining-room,  in  which  all  the  passengers 
in  the  train  could  enter  and  take  their  meals  comfortably.  The 
first  dining-car  was  named  the  "  Delmonico,"  and  began  running 
on  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  in  the  year  1868. 

The  comforts  and  conveniences  of  travel  by  rail  on  the  main 
lines  now  seemed  to  have  reached  their  culmination  in  America. 


METHODS    OF   CAR   HEATING. 


245 


The  heavy  T-rails  had  replaced  the  various  forms  previously  used  ; 
the  improved  fastenings,  the  reductions  in  curvature,  and  the  great- 
er care  exercised  in  construction  had  made  the  trip  delightfully 
smooth,  while  the  improvements  in  rolling-stock  had  obviated  the 
jerking,  jolting,  and  oscillation  of  the  cars.  The  roadbeds  had 
been  properly  ditched,  drained,  and  ballasted  with  broken  stone 
or  gravel,  the  dust  overcome,  the  sparks  arrested,  and  cleanliness, 
that  attribute  which  stands  next  to  godliness,  had  at  last  been 
made  possible,  even  on  a  railway  train. 

The  heating  of  cars  was  not  successfully  accomplished  till  a 
method  was  devised  for  circulating  hot  water  through  pipes  run- 
nine  near  the  floor.  The  suffering  from  that  bane  of  the  traveller 
— cold  feet^ — ^was  then  obviated  and  many  a  doctor's  bill  saved. 
The  loss  of  human  life  from  the  destruction  of  trains  by  fires  origi- 
nating from  stoves  aroused  such  a  feeling  throughout  the  country 
that  the  legislatures  of  many  States  have  passed  laws  within  the 


FiVlViViYiVil 


Dining-car  (  Chicago, 


ngton,  &  Quincy   Railroad.) 


last  three  years  prohibiting  the  use  of  stoves,  and  the  railway  man- 
agers have  been  devising  plans  for  heating  the  trains  with  steam 
furnished  from  the  boiler  of  the  locomotive.  The  inventive  genius 
of  the  people  was  at  once  brought  into  requisition,  and  several 
ingenious  devices  are  now  in  use  which  successfully  accomplish 


246  RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 

the  purpose  in  solid  trains  with  the  locomotive  attached,  but  the 
problem  of  heating  a  detached  car  without  some  form  of  furnace 
connected  with  it  is  still  unsolved. 

But  notwithstanding  the  high  standard  of  excellence  which 
had  been  reached  in  the  construction  and  operation  of  passenger 
trains,  there  was  one  want  not  yet  supplied,  the  importance  of 
which  did  not  become  fully  recognized  until  dining-cars  were  in- 
troduced, and  men,  women,  and  children  had  to  pass  across  the 
platforms  of  several  cars  in  order  to  reach  the  one  in  which  the 
meals  were  served.  An  act  which  passengers  had  always  been 
cautioned  against,  and  forbidden  to  undertake — the  crossing  of 
platforms  while  the  train  is  in  motion — now  became  necessary, 
and  was  invited  by  the  railway  companies. 

It  was  soon  seen  that  a  safe  covered  passageway  between  the 
cars  must  be  provided,  particularly  for  limited  express  trains. 
Crude  attempts  had  been  made  in  this  direction  at  different  times. 
As  early  as  the  years  1852  and  1855  patents  were  taken  out  for 
devices  which  provided  for  diaphragms  of  canvas  to  connect  adjoin- 
ing cars  and  form  a  passageway  between  them.  These  were  ap- 
plied to  cars  on  the  Naugatuck  Railroad,  in  Connecticut,  in  1857, 
but  they  were  used  mainly  for  purposes  of  ventilation,  to  provide 
for  taking  in  air  at  the  head  of  the  train,  so  as  to  permit  the  car 
windows  to  be  kept  shut,  to  avoid  the  dust  that  entered  through 
them  when  they  were  open.  These  appliances  were  very  imper- 
fect, did  not  seem  to  be  of  any  practical  advantage,  even  for  the 
limited  uses  for  which  they  were  intended,  and  they  were  aban- 
doned after  a  trial  of  about  four  years. 

In  the  year  1886  Mr.  Pullman  went  practically  to  work  to  de- 
vise a  perfect  system  for  constructing  continuous  trains,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  provide  for  sufficient  flexibility  in  connecting  the 
passageways  to  allow  for  the  motion  consequent  upon  the  round- 
ing of  curves.  His  efforts  resulted  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
"  vestibuled  "  train. 

This  invention,  which  was  patented  in  1887,  succeeded  not  only 
in  supplying  the  means  of  constructing  a  perfectly  enclosed  vestibule 
of  handsome  architectural  appearance  between  the  cars,  but  it  ac- 
complished what  is  even  still  more  important,  the  introduction  of  a 
safety  appliance  more  valuable  than  any  yet   devised  for  the   pro- 


LUXURIES   OF  A    VESTIBULED    TRAIN. 


249 


tection  of  human  life  in  case  of  collisions.  The  elastic  diaphragms 
which  are  attached  to  the  ends  of  the  cars  have  steel  frames,  the 
faces  or  bearing  surfaces 
of  which  are  pressed  firm- 
ly against  each  other  by 
powerful  spiral  springs, 
which  create  a  friction 
upon  the  faces  of  the 
frames,  hold  them  firmly 
in  position,  prevent  the 
oscillation  of  the  cars,  and 
furnish  a  buffer  extending 
from  the  platform  to  the 
roof  which  precludes  the 
possibility  of  one  platform 
"riding;"  the  other  and 
producing  telescoping  in 
case  of  collision.  The 
first  of  the  vestibuled 
trains  went  into  service 
on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  June,  1886,  and  they  are  rapidly 
being  adopted  by  railway  companies.  The  vestibuled  limited  trains 
contain  several  sleeping-cars,  a  dining-car,  and  a  car  fitted  up  with  a 
smoking  saloon,  a  library  with  books,  desks,  and  writing  materials, 
a  bath-room,  and  a  barber-shop.  With  a  free  circulation  of  air 
throughout  the  train,  the  cars  opening  into  each  other,  the  electric 
light,  the  many  other  increased  comforts  and  conveniences  intro- 
duced, the  steam-heating  apparatus  avoiding  the  necessity  of  using 
fires,  the  great  speed,  and  absence  of  stops  at  meal-stations,  this 
train  is  the  acme  of  safe  and  luxurious  travel.  An  ordinary  pas- 
senger travels  in  as  princely  a  style  in  these  cars  as  any  crowned 
head  in  Europe  in  a  royal  special  train. 

The  speed  of  passenger  trains  has  shown  steady  improvement 
from  year  to  year.  In  the  month  of  June  in  our  Centennial  year, 
1876,  a  train  ran  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  a  distance  of 
3,317  miles,  in  Z-^  hours  and  27  minutes  actual  time,  thus  averag- 
ing about  40  miles  an  hour,  but  during  the  trip  it  crossed  four 
mountain-summits,  one  of  them  over  8,000  feet  hio-h.      This  train 


End  View  of  a  Vestibuled  Car, 


250 


RAIL  WA  V  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL. 


ran  from  Jersey  City  to  Pittsburg  over  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
a  distance  of  444  miles,  without  making  a  stop.  In  1882  locomo- 
tives were  introduced  which  made  a  speed  of  70  miles  per  hour. 


p.        an    Sleeper  on    a  Vestibuled   Train 


In  July,  1885,  an  engine  with  a  train  of  three  cars  made  a  trip 
over  the  West  Shore  road  which  is  the  most  extraordinary  one 
on  record.  It  started  from  East  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  at  10.04  a.m., 
and  reached  Weehawken,  N.  J.,  at  7.27  p.:\i.  Deducting  the 
time  consumed  in  stops,  the  actual  running  time  was  7  hours  and 
23  minutes,  or  an  average  of  56  miles  per  hour.  Between  Church- 
ville  and  Genesee  Junction  this  train  attained  the  unparalleled 
speed  of  87  miles  per  hour,  and  at  several  other  parts  of  the  line 
a  speed  of  from  70  to  80  miles  an  hour.     The  superior  physical 


IMMIGRANT  SIEEPING-CARS. 


251 


characteristics  of  this  road  were  particularly  favorable  for  the  at- 
tainment of  the  speed  mentioned. 

The  trains  referred  to  .were  special  or  experimental  trains,  and 
while  American  railways  have  shown  their  ability  to  record  the 
highest  speed  yet  known,  they  do  not  run  their  trains  in  regular 
service  as  fast  as  those  on  the  English  railways.  The  meteor- 
like names  given  to  our  fast  trains  are  somewhat  misleading. 
When  one  reads  of  such  trains  as  the  "  Lightning,"  the  "  Cannon- 
ball,"  the  "Thunderbolt,"  and  the  "  G — whiz-z,"  the  suggestiveness 
of  the  titles  is  enough  to  make  one's  head  swim,  but,  after  all, 
the  names  are  not  as  significant  of  speed  as  the  British  "  Flying 
Scotchman  "  and  the  "  Wild  Irishman  ;  "  for  the  former  do  not 
attain  an  average  rate  of  40  miles  an  hour,  while  the  latter  exceed 
45  miles.  A  few  American  trains,  however,  those  between  Jersey 
City  and  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  make  an  average  speed  of  over 
50  miles  per  hour. 


The  transportation  of  immigrants  has  recently  received  in- 
creased facilities  for  its  accommodation  upon  the  principal  through 
lines.  Until 
late  years  eco- 
nomically con- 
structed day- 
cars  were 
alone  used, 
but  in  these 
the  immi- 
grants suffer- 
.ed  great  dis- 
co m  fort  in 
longjourneys. 
An  immigrant 
sleeper  is  now 
used,  which  is 
constructed 
with    sections 

on  each   side    of  the    aisle,   each    section   containing  two   double 
berths.     The   berths  are  made  with  slats  of  hard  wood  running 


Immigrant  Sleeping-car  (Canadian   Pacific  Railway.) 


252 


RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 


longitudinally  ;   there  is  no  upholstery  in  the  car,  and  no  bedding 

supplied,  and  after  the  car  is  vacated  the  hose  can  be  turned  in 

upon    it,    and    all    the    wood-work    thoroughly 

cleansed.      The  immigrants    usually    carry    with 

them  enough  blankets  and  wraps  to  make  them 

tolerably  comfortable  in  their  berths  ;   a  cooking 

stove   is   provided   in   one  end  of  the  car,  on 

which  the  occupants  can  cook  their  food,  and 

even  the  long  transcontinental  journeys  of  the 

immigrants  are  now  made  without  hardship. 


View  of  Puilman,  III. 


The  manufacture  of  railway  passenger  cars  is  a  large  item  of 
industry  in  the  country.  The  tendency  had  been  for  many  years 
to  confine  the  building  of  ordinary  passenger  coaches  to  the  shops 
owned  by  the  railway  companies,  and  they  made  extensive  provi- 
sion for  such  work  ;  but  recently  they  have  given  large  orders  for 
that  class  of  equipment  to  outside  manufacturers.  This  has  re- 
sulted partly  from  the  large  demand  for  cars,  and  partly  on  ac- 
count of  the  excellence  of  the  work  supplied  by  some  of  the  manu- 
facturing companies.  In  1880  the  Pullman  Company  erected  the 
most  extensive  car-works  in  the  world  at  Pullman,  fourteen  miles 
south  of  Chicago  ;  and,  besides  its  extensive  output  of  Pullman 
cars  and  freight  equipment,  it  has  built  for  railway  companies  large 
numbers  of  passenger  coaches.  The  employees  now  number 
about  5,000,  and  an  idea  of  the  capacity  and  resources  of  the  shops 


THE   BAGGAGE-CHECK  SYSTEM.  253 

may  be  obtained  from  the  fact  that  one  hundred  freight  cars,  of 
the  kind  known  as  flat  cars,  have  been  built  in  eight  hours.  The 
business  of  car-building  has  therefore  given  rise  to  the  first  model 
manufacturing  town  in  America,  and  it  is  an  industry  evidently 
destined  to  increase  as  rapidly  as  any  in  the  country. 

The  transportation  of  baggage  has  always  been  a  most  impor- 
tant item  to  the  traveller,  and  the  amount  carried  seems  to  increase 
in  proportion  to  the  advance  in  civilization.  The  original  allow- 
ance of  fourteen  pounds  is  found  to  be  increased  to  four  hundred 
when  ladies  start  for  fashionable  summer-resorts. 

America  has  been  much  more  liberal  than  other  countries  to 
the  traveller  in  this  particular,  as  in  all  others.  Here  few  of  the 
roads  charge  for  excess  of  baggage  unless  the  amount  be  so  large 
that  patience  with  regard  to  it  ceases  to  be  a  virtue. 

The  earlier  method,  of  allowing  each  passenger  to  pick  out  his 
own  baggage  at  his  point  of  destination  and  carry  it  off,  resulted 
in  a  lack  of  accountability  which  led  to  much  confusion,  frequent 
losses,  and  heavy  claims  upon  the  companies  in  consequence. 
Necessity,  as  usual,  gave  birth  to  invention,  and  the  difficulty  was 
at  last  solved  by  the  introduction  of  the  system  known  as  "  check- 
ing." A  metal  disk  bearing  a  number  and  designating  on  its  face 
the  destination  of  the  baggage  was  attached  to  each  article  and  a 
duplicate  given  to  the  owner,  which  answered  as  a  receipt,  and 
upon  the  presentation  and  surrender  of  which  the  baggage  could 
be  claimed.  Railways  soon  united  in  arranging  for  through  checks 
which,  when  attached  to  baggage,  would  insure  its  being  sent  safely 
to  distant  points  over  lines  composed  of  many  connecting  roads. 
The  check  system  led  to  the  introduction  of  another  marked  con- 
venience in  the  handling  of  baggage — the  baggage  express  or 
transfer  company.  One  of  its  agents  will  now  check  trunks  at  the 
passenger's  own  house  and  haul  them  to  the  train.  Another 
agent  will  take  up  the  checks  aboard  the  train  as  it  is  nearing  its 
destination,  and  see  that  the  baggage  is  delivered  at  any  given 
address. 

The  cases  in  which  pieces  go  astray  are  astonishingly  rare,  and 
some  roads  found  the  claims  for  lost  articles  reduced  by  five  thou- 
sand dollars  the  first  year  after  adopting  the  check  system,  not  to 
mention  the  amount  saved  in  the  reduced  force  of  employees  en- 


2  54  RAILWAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 

gaged  in  assorting  and  handling  the  baggage.  Its  workings  are 
so  perfect  and  its  conveniences  so  great  that  an  American  cannot 
easily  understand  why  it  is  not  adopted  in  all  countries  ;  but  he  is 
forced  to  recoo-nize  the  fact  that  it  seems  destined  to  be  confined 
to  his  own  land.  The  London  railway  managers,  for  instance, 
give  many  reasons  for  turning  their  faces  against  its  adoption. 
They  say  that  there  are  few  losses  arising  from  passengers  taking 
baggage  that  does  not  belong  to  them  ;  that  most  of  the  pas- 
sengers take  a  cab  at  the  end  of  their  railway  journey  to  reach 
their  homes,  and  it  costs  but  little  more  to  carry  their  trunk  with 
them  ;  that  in  this  way  it  gets  home  as  soon  as  they,  while  the 
transfer  company,  or  baggage  express,  would  not  deliver  it  for  an 
hour  or  two  later  ;  that  the  cab  system  is  a  great  convenience,  and 
any  change  which  would  diminish  its  patronage  would  gradually 
reduce  the  number  of  cabs,  and  these  "  gondolas  of  London  " 
would  have  to  increase  their  charges  or  go  out  of  business.  It  is 
very  easy  to  find  a  stick  when  one  wants  to  hit  a  dog,  and  the 
European  railway  officials  seem  never  to  be  at  a  loss  for  reasons 
in  rejecting  the  check  system. 

Coupon  tickets  covering  trips  over  several  different  railways 
have  saved  the  traveller  all  the  annoyance  once  experienced  in 
purchasing  separate  tickets  from  the  several  companies  represent- 
ing the  roads  over  which  he  had  to  pass.  Their  introduction  ne- 
cessitated an  agreement  among  the  principal  railways  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  adoption  of  an  extensive  system  of  accountability  for 
the  purpose  of  making  settlements  of  the  amounts  represented  by 
the  coupons. 

Like  every  other  novelty  the  coupon  ticket,  when  first  intro- 
duced, did  not  hit  the  mark  when  aimed  at  the  understanding  of 
certain  travellers.  A  United  States  Senator-elect  had  come  on  by 
sea  from  the  Pacific  Coast  who  had  never  seen  a  railroad  till  he 
reached  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  With  a  curiosity  to  test  the  work- 
ings of  the  new  means  of  transportation,  of  which  he  had  heard  so 
much,  he  bought  a  coupon  ticket  and  set  out  for  a  railway  journey. 
He  entered  a  car,  took  a  seat  next  to  the  door,  and  was  just  begin- 
ning to  get  the  "  hang  of  the  school-house  "  when  the  conductor, 
who  was  then  not  uniformed,  came  in,  cried  "  Tickets  !  "  and  reached 
out  his  hand  toward  the  Senator.      "What  do  you  want  of  me?" 


In   a   Baguag;e-foonn. 


COUPON  TICKETS. 


257 


said  the  latter.  "  I  want  your  ticket,"  answered  the  conductor. 
Now  it  occurred  to  the  Senator  that  this  might  be  a  very  neat  job 
on  the  part  of  an  Eastern  ticket-sharp,  but  it  was  just  a  Httle  too 
thin  to  fool  a  Pacific  Coaster,  and  he  said:  "  Don't  you  think  I've 
got  sense  enough  to  know  that  if  I  parted  with  my  ticket  right  at 
the  start  I  wouldn't  have  anything  to  show  for  my  money  during 
the  rest  of  the  way?  No,  sir,  I'm  going  to  hold  on  to  this  till  I 
get  to  the  end  of  the  trip." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  the  conductor,  whose  impatience  was  now  rising 
to  fever  heat,  "  I  don't  want  to  take  up  your  ticket,  I  only  want  to 
look  at  it." 

The  Senator  thought,  after  some  reflection,  that  he  would  risk 
letting  the  man  have  a  peep  at  it,  anyhow,  and  held  it  up  before 
him,  keeping  it,  however,  at  a  safe  distance.  The  conductor,  with 
the  customary  abruptness,  jerked  it  out  of  his  hand,  tore  off  the 
first  coupon,  and  was  about  to  return  the  ticket,  when  the  Pacific 
Coaster  sprang  up,  threw  himself  upon  his  muscle,  and  delivered  a 
well-directed  blow  of  his  fist  upon  the  conductor's  right  eye,  which 
landed  him  sprawling  on  one  of  the  opposite  seats.     The  other 

passengers  were  at  once  on  their  feet,  and  rushed  up  to  know  the 

17 


258 


RAIL  WA  V  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL. 


Outside  the  Grand  Central   Station,  New  York. 


cause  of  the  disturbance.  The  Senator,  still  standing  with  his 
arms  in  a  pugnacious  attitude,  said  : 

"  Maybe  I've  never  ridden  on  a  railroad  before,  but  I'm  not 
going  to  let  any  sharper  get  away  with  me  like  that." 

"  What's  he  done  }  "  cried  the  passengers. 


CONVENIENCES  AT  STATIONS. 


259 


"  Why,"  said  the  Senator,  "  I  paid  seventeen  dollars  and  a  half 
for  a  ticket  to  take  me  through  to  Cincinnati,  and  before  we're  five 
miles  out  that  fellow  slips  up  and  says  he  wants  to  see  it,  and  when 
I  get  it  out,  he  grabs  hold  of  it  and  goes  to  tearing  it  up  right  be- 
fore my  eyes."  Ample  explanations  were  soon  made,  and  the  new 
passenger  was  duly  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  coupon  system. 

The  uniforming  of  railway  employees  was  a  movement  of  no 
little  importance.  It  designated  the  various  positions  held  by 
them,  added  much  to  the  neatness  of  their  appearance,  enabled 
passengers  to  recognize  them  at  a  glance,  and  made  them  so  con- 
spicuous that  it  impressed  them  with  a  greater  sense  of  responsi- 
bility and  aided  much  in  effecting  a  more  . 
courteous  demeanor  to  passengers.                          ^ 


Many   conveniences  have  been  intro 
duced  which  greatly  assist  the  passenger 
when    travelling  upon  unfa- 
miliar  roads.      Conspicuous 
clock-faces  stand   in  "5::  ;" 

the    stations    with  ,.  .  •^- 

their  hands  set  to  the         .    r  -  ,  ^"~-- --: 

hour   at    which    the  --^--^^ 


are 


next  tram  is  to  start. 


sign-boards 
displayed 
with  hori- 
zontal slats 
on  which  the 
stations  are 
named  at 
which  d  e  - 
parting  way- 
trains  stop, 
and  employ- 


Boston  Passenger  Station,  Providence  Division,  Old  Colony  Railroad. 


ees  are  stationed  to  call  out  necessary  information  and  direct  pas- 
sengers to  the  proper  entrances,  exits,  and  trains.  A  "  bureau  of 
information  "  is  now  to  be  seen  in  large  passenger-stations,  in 
which  an  official  sits  and  with  a  Job-like  patience  repeats  to  the 


2  6o 


RAIL  WA  Y  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL. 


curiously  inclined  passengers  the  whole  railway  catechism,  and  suc- 
cessfully answers  conundrums  that  would  stump  an  Oriental  pundit. 

The  energetic  passenger-agent  spares  no  pains  to  thrust  infor- 
mation directly  under  the  nose  of  the  public.  He  uses  every 
means  known  to  Yankee  ingenuity  to  advertise  his  regular  trains 
and  his  excursion  business,  including  large  newspaper  head-lines, 
corner-posters,  curb-stone  dodgers,  and  placards  on  the  breast  and 
back  of  the  itinerant  human  sandwich  who  perambulates  the  streets. 

Railway  accidents  have  always  been  a  great  source  of  anxiety 
to  the  managers,  and  the  shocks  received  by  the  public  when 
great  loss  of  life  occurs  from  such  causes  deepen  the  interest 
which  the  general  community  feels  in  the  means  taken  to  avoid 
these  distressing  occurrences. 

American  railway  officials  have  made  encouraging  progress  in 
reducing  the  number  and  the  severity  of  accidents,  and  while  the 
record  is  not  so  good  on  many  of  our  cheaply  constructed  roads, 
our  first-class  roads  now  show  by  their  statistics  that  they  com- 
pare favorably  in  this  respect  with  the  European  companies. 

The  statistics  regarding  accidents  *  are  necessarily  unreliable, 
as  railway  companies  are  not  eager  to  publish  their  calamities  from 
the  house-tops,  and  only  in  those  States  in  which  prompt  reports 
are  required  to  be  made  by  law  are  the  figures  given  at  all  accu- 
rately. Even  in  these  instances  the  yearly  reports  lead  to  wrong 
conclusions,  for  the  State  Railroad  Commissioners  become  more 
exacting  each  year  as  to  the  thoroughness  of  the  reports  called 
for,  and  the  results  sometimes  show  an  increase  compared  with  pre- 
vious years,  whereas  there  may  have  been  an  actual  decrease. 

In  1880,  the  last  census  year,  an  effort  was  made  to  collect  sta- 
tistics of  this  kind  covering  all  the  railways  in  the  United  States, 
with  the  followino  result : 


To  whom  happened. 


Passengers . . 
Employees. 
All  others  .  .  . 
Unspecified. 

Total 


Through  causes 
beyond  their  control. 


Killed. 


61 
261 

43 


365 


Injured 


331 

1,004 

103 


1,438 


Through  their  own 
carelessness. 


Killed. 


,S2 

663 

1,429 


Injured. 


213 
2,613 
1,348 


2,174     I    4,174 


Aggregate. 


Killed. 


143 
924 

1,472 

3 


2,542 


Injured. 


*  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,  "  page  191. 


T9tal 
accidents. 


544 

687 

3,617 

4,541 

1,451 

2,923 

62 

65 

5,674      8,216 


"  Show  Your  Tickets  !  " 
(Passenger  Station,  Philadelphia.; 


STATISTICS   OF  ACCIDENTS. 


263 


Mulhall,  in  his  "  Dictionary  of  Statistics,"  an  English  work,  uses 
substantially  these  same  figures  and  makes  the  following  compari- 
son between  European  and  American  railways  : 

Accidents  to  Passengers,  Etnployees,  and  Others. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Total. 

Per  million 
passengers. 

United  States 

2,349 
1. 135 
3.213 

5,867 

3.959 
10,859 

8,216 

5.094 
14,072 

41. 1 

8.1 

United  Kingdom 

Europe 

10.8 

That  the  figures  given  above  are  much  too  high  as  regards  the 
United  States,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  For  the  fiscal  year  1880-81 
the  data  compiled  by  the  Railroad  Commissioners  of  Massachusetts 
and  published  in  their  reports  give  as  the  total  number  of  persons 
killed  and  injured  in  the  United  States  2,126,  as  against  8,216 
upon  which  the  comparisons  in  the  above  table  are  based.  If  we 
substitute  in  this  table  the  former  number  for  the  latter,  it  would 
reduce  the  number  of  injured  per  million  passengers  in  the 
United  States  to  10.6,  about  the  same  as  on  the  European  rail- 
ways. 

Edward  Bates  Dorsey  gives  the  following  interesting  table  of 
comparisons  in  his  valuable  work,  "  English  and  American  Rail- 
roads Compared :  " 

Passengers  Killed  and  Injured  from  Causes  beyond  their  own  Control  on  all  the  Railroads 
of  the  United  Kingdom  and  those  of  the  States  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts  in 
1884. 


United  Kingdom. 

New  York 

Massachusetts. . . 


In  1,000,000,000 
passengers  trans- 
ported I  mile. 


United  Kingdom. 

New  York 

Massachusetts  . . . 


Total  length 

of  line 

operated. 


18,864 
7,298 
2,852 


Total  mileage. 


272,803,220 
85,918,677 
32,304.333 


Passengers. 


6,042,659,990 
1,729,653.620 
1,007,136,376 


Killed. 


31 

10 

2 

515 
5.78 
2.00 


In- 
jured. 


864 

124 

42 

143 
70 
42 


264  J?  AIL  J  FAY  PASSENGER    TRAVEL. 


Mdes. 


The  average  number  of  miles  (  United  Kingdom 194,892,255 

a  passenger  can  travel  with-<  New  York :  172,965,362 

out  being  killed.                     (  Massachusetts ". ,  503, 568, 1 88 

The  average  number  of  miles  (  United  Kingdom 6,992,662 

a  passenger  can  travel  with-  <  New  York '  13,940,754 

out  being  injured.                  (  Massachusetts 23,955,630 


From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  United  Kingdom  the  aver- 
age distance  a  passenger  may  travel  before  being  killed  is  about 
equal  to  twice  the  distance  of  the  Earth  from  the  Sun.  In  New  York 
he  may  travel  a  distance  greater  than  that  of  Mars  from  the  Sun  ; 
and  in  Massachusetts  he  can  comfort  himself  with  the  thought 
that  he  may  travel  twenty-seven  millions  of  miles  farther  than 
the  distance  of  Jupiter  to  the  Sun  before  suffering  death  on  the 
rail. 

The  most  encouraging  feature  of  these  statistics  is  the  fact  that 
the  number  of  railway  accidents  per  mile  in  the  United  States  has 
shown  a  marked  decrease  each  year.  Taking  the  figures  adopted 
by  the  Massachusetts  commissions,  the  number  of  persons  injured 
in  the  year  1880-81  was  2,126,  and  in  1886-87,  2,483,  while  in 
the  same  time  the  number  of  miles  in  operation  increased  from 
93.349  to  137,986. 

The  amounts  paid  annually  by  railways  in  satisfaction  of  claims 
for  damages  to  passengers  are  serious  items  of  expenditure,  and  in 
the  United  States  have  reached  in  some  years  nearly  two  millions 
of  dollars.  About  half  of  the  States  limit  the  amount  of  damao-es 
in  case  of  death  to  ^5,000,  the  States  of  Virginia,  Ohio,  and  Kan- 
sas to  $10,000,  and  the  remainder  have  no  statutory  limit. 

In  the  year  1840  the  number  of  miles  of  railway  per  100,000  in- 
habitants in  the  different  countries  named  was  as  follows  :  United 
States,  20;  United  Kingdom,  3;  Europe,  1;  in  the  year  1882, 
United  States,  210;   United  Kingdom,  52  ;  Europe,  34. 

In  the  year  1886  the  total  number  of  miles  in  the  United 
States  was  137,986;  the  number  of  passengers  carried,  382,284,- 
972;  the  number  carried  one  mile,  9,659,698,294;  the  average  dis- 
tance travelled  per  passenger,  25.27  miles. 

In   Europe  the   hrst-class   travel   is  exceedingly  small  and  the 


COMPARATIVE   RATES   OF  FARE. 


265 


third  class  constitutes  the  largest  portion  of  the  passenger  busi- 
ness, while  in  America  almost  the  whole  of  the  travel  is  first  class, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  table : 


United  Kingdom 

France 

Germany 

United  States. .  . 


Percentage  of  passengers 

carried. 

First 

Second 

Third 

Class. 

Class. 

Class. 

6 

10 

84 

8 

32 

60 

I 

13 

86 

99 

iof  I 

iof  I 

The  third-class  travel  in  this  country  is  better  known  as  immi- 
grant travel.  The  percentages  given  in  the  above  table  for  the 
United  States  are  based  upon  an  average  of  the  numbers  of  pas- 
sengers of  each  class  carried  on  the  principal  through  lines.  If 
all  the  roads  were  included,  the  percentages  of  the  second-  and 
third-class  travel  would  be  still  less. 

That  which  is  of  more  material  interest  to  passengers  than  any- 
thing else  is  the  rate  of  fare  charged. 

The  following  table  gives  an  approximate  comparison  between 
the  rates  per  mile  in  the  leading  countries  in  the  world  : 


First 
Class. 

Second 
Class. 

Third 
Class. 

United  Kingdom 

Cents. 
4.42 
3.86 
3.10 
2.18 

Cents. 
3.20 

2.88 
232 

Cents. 
1.94 
2.08 

France    

Germany 

1.54 

United  States .    .              ....             .... 

The  rates  above  given  for  the  United  Kingdom,  France,  and 
Germany  are  the  regular  schedule-rates.  An  average  of  all  the 
fares  received,  including  the  reduced  fares  at  excursion  rates,  would 
make  the  figures  somewhat  less. 

The  rate  named  as  the  first-class  fare  for  the  railways  in  the 
United  States  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  average  earnings  per  pas- 
senger per  mile,  and  includes  all  classes  ;  but  as  the  first-class 
passengers  constitute  about  ninety-nine  per  centum  of  the  travel 
the  amount  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  actual  first-class  fare. 


266 


RAIL  IVA  Y  PASSENGER    TRA  VEL. 


In  the  State  of  New  York  the  first-class  fare  does  not  exceed  two 
cents,  which  is  not  much  more  than  the  third-class  fare  in  some 
countries  of  Europe,  and  heat,  good  ventilation,  ice-water,  toilet 
arrangements,  and  free  carriage  of  a  liberal  amount  of  baggage 
are  supplied,  while  in  Europe  few  of  these  comforts  are  furnished. 

On  the  elevated  railroads  of  New  York  a  passenger  can  ride 
in  a  first-class  car  eleven  miles  for  5  cents,  or  about  one-half  cent  a 
mile,  and  on  surface-roads  the  commutation  rates  given  to  sub- 
urban passengers  are  in  some  cases  still  less. 

The  berth-fares  in  sleeping-cars  in  Europe  largely  exceed  those 
in  America,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  comparisons,  stated 
in  dollars  : 


Route. 


Paris  to  Rome 

New  York  to  Chicago 
Paris  to  Marseilles. . . 
New  York  to  Buffalo . 
Calais  to  Brindisi .  .  .  . 
Boston  to  St.  Louis. . 


Berth- fare. 


While  it  would  seem  that  the  luxuries  of  railway  travel  in  Am- 
erica have  reached  a  maximum,  and  the  charges  a  minimum,  yet  in 
this  progressive  age  it  is  very  probable  that  in  the  not  far  dis- 
tant future  we  shall  witness  improvements  over  the  present 
methods  which  will  astonish  us  as  much  as  the  present  methods 
surprise  us  when  we  compare  them  with  those  of  the  past. 


THE  FREIGHT-CAR  SERVICE. 

By  THEODORE  VOORHEES. 

Sixteen  Months'  Journey  of  a  Car — Detentions  by  the  Way — Difficulties  of  the  Car  Ac- 
countant's Office — Necessities  of  Through  Freight — How  a  Company's  Cars  are  Scat- 
tered— The  Question  of  Mileage — Reduction  of  the  Balance  in  Favor  of  Other  Roads 
— Relation  of  the  Car  Accountant's  Work  to  the  Transportation  Department — Com- 
putation of  Mileage — The  Record  Branch — How  Reports  are  Gathered  and  Com- 
piled— Exchange  of  "Junction  Cards" — The  Use  of  "Tracers" — Distribution  of 
Empty  Cars — Control  of  the  Movement  of  Freight — How  Trains  are  Made  Up — 
Duties  of  the  Yardmaster — The  Handling  of  Through  Trains — Organization  of  Fast 
Lines — Transfer  Freight  Houses — Special  Cars  for  Specific  Service — Disasters  to 
Freight  Trains — How  the  Companies  Suffer — Inequalities  in  Payment  for  Car  Ser- 
vice— The  Per  Diem  Plan — A  Uniform  Charge  for  Car  Rental — What  Reforms  might 
be  Accomplished. 

I. 


THE    WANDERINGS    OF    A    CAR. 


O 


N  the  14th  of  December,  1886,  there  was 
loaded  in  IndianapoHs  a  car  belonging  to 
one  of  the  roads  passing  through  that  city.  It 
was  loaded  with  corn  consigned  to  parties  in 
Boston.  The  car  was  delivered  to  the  Lake 
Shore  road  at  Cleveland  on  the  i6th  ;  but,  owing 
to  bad  weather  and  various  other  local  causes,  it 
.  .%  :ii..:  '■]  did  not  reach  East  Buffalo  until  December  28th. 
It  was  turned  over  by  the  New  York  Central  & 
Hudson  River  Railroad  to  the  West  Shore  road  the  next  day,  and 
by  this  company  was  taken  to  Rotterdam  Junction,  and  there  de- 
livered on  December  31st  to  the  Western  Division  of  the  Fitch- 
burg  Railroad,  or  what  was  then  known  as  the  Boston,  Hoosac 
Tunnel  &  Western.  They  took  it  promptly  through  to  Boston. 
After  a  few  days  the  corn  was  sold  by  the  consignees  for  delivery 
in  Medfield,  on  the  New  York  &   New  England   Railway.     The 


268  THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

car  was  delivered  to  this  road  on  January  24,  1887,  and  taken 
down  to  Medfield.  There  it  remained  among  a  large  number  of 
other  cars,  until  it  suited  the  convenience  of  the  purchaser  to  put 
the  corn  into  his  elevator. 

On  the  17th  of  March  the  car  was  unloaded,  taken  back  to 
Boston,  and  delivered  to  the  Fitchburg  road  to  be  sent  West, 
homeward.  That  company  took  it  promptly,  but  instead  of  deliv- 
ering it  to  the  West  Shore  road  at  Rotterdam  Junction,  as  would 
have  been  the  regular  course,  either  throuo-h  some  mistake  of  a 
yardmaster  at  the  junction  station,  or  in  pursuance  of  general  in- 
structions to  load  all  Western  cars  home  whenever  practicable,  the 
car  was  not  delivered  to  the  West  Shore,  but  was  turned  over  to 
the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Go's.  Railroad,  taken  down  to 
the  coal  regions,  and  on  March  31st  delivered  to  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad,  by  whom  it  was  loaded  with  coal 
for  Chicago.  That  company  promptly  delivered  it  to  the  Grand 
Trunk  at  Buffalo,  and  on  April  loth  the  car  reached  Chicago.  It 
was  immediately  reconsigned  by  the  local  agents  of  the  coal  com- 
pany to  a  dealer  in  the  town  of  Minot,  523  miles  west  of  St.  Paul, 
on  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Manitoba  Railroad.  To  reach  that 
point,  it  was  delivered  to  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  on 
April  loth,  then  to  the  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids  &  Northern, 
Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis,  St.  Paul  &  Duluth,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
&  Manitoba,  arriving  at  its  destination  on  the  14th  of  April. 

Winter  still  reigned  in  that  locality,  and  the  car  was  promptly 
unloaded,  and  returned  to  St.  Paul,  where  it  was  loaded  with  wheat 
consigned  to  New  York.  It  left  St.  Paul  on  the  26th  of  April,  was 
promptly  moved  through  to  Chicago,  and  delivered  to  the  Grand 
Trunk.  Coming  east,  in  Canada,  the  train  of  which  this  car 
formed  a  part,  while  passing  through  a  small  station,  in  the  night 
ran  into  an  open  switch.  The  engine  dashed  into  a  number  of 
loaded  cars  standing  on  the  siding,  and  the  cars  behind  it  were 
piled  up  in  bad  confusion,  a  number  of  them  being  destroyed,  and 
the  freight  scattered  in  all  directions.  Our  car,  whose  history  we 
are  tracing,  suffered  comparatively  slight  damage.  The  draw- 
heads  were  broken,  and  some  castings  on  one  truck,  not  sufficient 
to  affect  in  any  way  the  loading  of  the  car.  It  was  sent  to  the 
shops  of  the  road  ;  and  it  became  necessary  for  them,  on  examina- 


DELAYS  IN  A    LONG  JOURNEY.  269 

tion,  to  send  to  the  owners  of  the  car  for  a  casting  to  replace  that 
broken  on  the  truck.  This  resulted  in  serious  detention.  The 
requisition  for  this  casting  had  to  be  approved  by  the  Superintend- 
ent and  by  the  General  Manager,  and  was  forwarded,  after  a  con- 
siderable delay,  to  the  officers  of  the  road  owning  the  car.  There 
it  was  sent  through  a  number  of  offices  before  it  finally  reached  the 
hands  of  the  man  who  was  able  to  supply  the  required  casting. 
This  in  turn  was  sent  by  freight,  and  passed  over  the  intervening 
territory  at  a  slow  rate  ;  the  whole  involving  a  detention  which 
held  the  car  from  April  28th,  when  it  was  delivered  at  Chicago  to 
the  Grand  Trunk,  until  July  i8th,  when  finally  the  Grand  Trunk 
delivered  it  to  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  at  Buffalo. 
It  came  through  promptly  to  New  York,  the  grain  was  put  in  an 
elevator,  the  car  was  sent  back  once  more  to  the  mines  at  Scran- 
ton,  and  again  loaded  with  coal  for  Chicago.  On  August  9th  the 
record  says  the  car  was  delivered  by  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
Western  to  the  Grand  Trunk,  and  on  the  12th  of  August  it  was  in 
Chicago. 

About  this  time  the  owners  of  the  car  began  to  make  vigorous 
appeals  to  the  various  roads,  urging  them  to  send  the  car  home. 
One  of  these  tracers  reached  the  Grand  Trunk  road  while  they 
still  held  the  car  in  their  possession  ;  so  that  orders  were  sent  that 
the  coal  must  be  unloaded  at  once,  and  the  car  returned.  In  order 
to  unload  it,  it  was  necessary  to  switch  it  to  the  Illinois  Central  for 
some  local  consignee,  and  it  was  unloaded  within  four  days  and 
delivered  back  to  the  Grand  Trunk  at  Chicago.  This  was  on 
August  i6th.  During  the  few  days  that  had  elapsed  since  the 
order  was  given  to  send  this  car  home,  there  had  been  an  active 
demand  for  cars,  and  knowing  that  this  one  had  to  be  sent  to  Buf- 
falo in  order  to  be  delivered  to  the  Lake  Shore  road,  from  which  it 
had  originally  been  received,  the  car  was  loaded  for  that  point. 
This  again  resulted  in  detention,  for  we  find  that  the  car  was  held 
on  the  Grand  Trunk  tracks  at  Black  Rock,  awaiting  the  pleasure  of 
the  consignee  to  unload  the  freight,  until  the  27th  of  September ; 
and  then,  instead  of  being  unloaded  and  delivered  to  the  Lake 
Shore  road,  as  had  been  the  intention  of  the  Grand  Trunk  officials, 
the  consignee  sold  the  wheat  in  the  car  to  a  local  dealer  on  the 
line  of  the  Erie  Railway,  and  the  car  was  sent  down  on  that  road 


270  THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

on  October  ist,  and  not  returned  to  the  Grand  Trunk  again  until 
the  loth  day  of  October. 

Unfortunately,  the  Erie  was  as  anxious  at  that  time  to  load  cars 
west  with  coal  as  the  other  roads,  and  when  they  brought  the  car 
back  to  the  Grand  Trunk,  they  brought  it  once  more  filled  with 
coal,  and  back  the  car  went  to  Chicago,  reaching  there  on  the  13th 
of  October. 

It  had  now  been  away  from  home  and  diverted  from  its  legiti- 
mate uses  for  nine  months,  and  apparently  was  as  far  from  home 
as  ever.  The  delivery  of  the  coal  this  time  at  Chicago  put  the  car 
in  the  hands  of  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  &  Chicago  Railway, 
and  they  promptly  gave  it  a  lading  by  the  southern  route  to  New- 
port News ;  for  we  find  the  car  delivered  by  the  Louisville,  New 
Albany  &  Chicago  to  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  route  on  October 
28th,  and  at  Newport  News  on  the  10th  of  November.  The 
owners  of  the  car  were  meanwhile  not  idle.  The  occasional  stray 
junction  cards  which  came  in  notified  them  of  the  passage  of  the  car 
by  different  junction  points,  giving  them  clews  to  work  by,  and 
they  were  in  vigorous  correspondence  with  the  various  roads  over 
which  the  car  had  gone,  urging,  begging,  and  imploring  the  rail- 
way officers  to  make  all  efforts  in  their  power  to  get  the  car  back 
to  its  home  road. 

On  its  last  trip  from  Chicago  to  Newport  News,  the  car  passed 
thi-ough  Indianapolis,  the  very  point  from  which  it  began  its  long 
journey  and  many  wanderings.  Unfortunately,  however,  it  passed 
there  loaded,  without  detention,  and  the  owners  of  the  car  did  not 
discover  until  it  had  been  for  some  time  at  Newport  News,  that 
the  car  had  been  anywhere  near  its  home  territory.  By  the  time 
they  made  this  discovery  the  car  had  been  unloaded,  and  had 
started  west  once  more.  The  records  of  the  movement  of  the  car 
here  become  dim.  It  was  apparently  diverted  from  its  direct  route 
back,  which  would  have  taken  it  once  more  to  Indianapolis,  and  so 
home,  for  we  find,  after  waiting  at  Newport  News  for  some  time 
to  be  unloaded,  it  was  delivered  to  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga  & 
St.  Louis,  next  on  the  Western  &  Atlantic,  and  so  down  into 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  Again,  on  January  14,  1888,  the 
car  was  reported  on  the  Richmond  &  Danville.  They  sent  it 
once  more  down  into  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.     From  there  it 


THE   CAR   ACCOUNTANT.  27 1 

was  loaded  down  to  Selma,  Ala.,  on  the  Atlanta  &  West  Point 
Railroad.  They  returned  it  promptly  to  Atlanta,  and  so  to  the 
Central  Railroad  of  Georgia ;  and  the  car,  after  being  used  back- 
ward and  forward  between  Montgomery  and  Atlanta  and  Macon, 
finally  appeared  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  where  it  stood  on  February  11, 
1888.  Here  the  car  remained  for  some  time,  long  enough  for  the 
owners  to  get  advices  as  to  its  whereabouts,  and  communicate  with 
the  road  on  whose  territory  the  car  was,  before  it  was  again 
moved.  An  urgent  representation  of  the  case  having  been  laid 
before  the  proper  authorities,  they  agreed,  if  possible,  to  load  it  in 
such  a  way  that  it  should  go  back  to  Indianapolis.  This  could  not 
be  done  at  once,  however  ;  but  about  the  12th  of  March  the  car  was 
sent  to  a  near-by  point  in  South  Carolina  loaded,  and  worked  back 
over  the  Georgia  road  and  the  Western  Atlantic,  delivered  to  the 
Louisville  &  Nashville  on  April  3d,  and  finally,  after  its  many  and 
long  wanderings,  was  by  that  road  delivered  to  the  home  road  at 
Cincinnati  on  the  17th  of  April ;  having  been  away  from  home 
sixteen  months  and  one  day. 

This  is  a  case  taken  from  actual  records,  and  is  one  that  could 
be  duplicated  probably  by  any  railroad  in  the  country. 


II. 

THE    CAR    accountant's    OFFICE. 

The  Winnipeg  &  Athabaska  Lake  Railway  Co., 
General  Superintendent'' s  Office, 

Winnipeg,  December  31,  1888. 
To  John  Smith,  Esq., 

Siipt.  of  Trat/s^n,  L.  &=  JV.  R.  R.  Co.,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Sir  :  Our  records  show  forty-five  of  our  box-cars  on  your  line,  some  of  which  have 
been  away  from  home  over  three  weeks.  I  give  below  the  numbers  of  those  which  have 
been  detained  over  thirty  days,  viz.  : 

Nos. 


28542 

34210 

34762 

29421 

28437 

29842 

34628 

34516 

29781 

28274 

34333 

28873 

There  is  at  this  time  a  strong  demand  for  cars  for  the  movement  of  the  wheat  crop 
and  I  must  beg  that  you  will  send  home  promptly  all  that  you  have  on  your  line. 

I  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Thomas  Brown. 


272  THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

Louisville  &  Norfolk  R.  R.  Co., 
Office  of  Superintendent  of  Transportation, 
Louisville,  Ky.  ,  Jan'y  3,  1889. 
To  Thomas  Brown,  Esq., 

Gen'' I  Sup t.^    W.  &=  A.  L.  R.    W.  Co.,   Winnipeg,    Canada. 

Sir  :  Your  favor  of  the  31st  ulto.  was  duly  received  and  contents  noted. 
I  call  your  attention  to  the  enclosed  mem.  from  our  Car  Accountant,  which  shows 
that  we  have  but  seven  of  your  cars  now  on  our  road  ;  of  these  but  three  are  bad  cases, 
Nos.  28437,  34516,  and  28873.     One  of  these  cars  was  crippled,  and  is  in  the  shops  ;  the 
other  two  are  loaded  with  wheat  consigned  "  to  order." 

The  necessary  instructions  have  been  given  our  agents,  and  we  will  do  all  in  our 
power  to  hurry  the  return  of  your  cars. 

I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  Smith, 


(Mem.  enclosed. 


Memorandum. 
W.  &  A.  L.     Nos. 


28542  to  Ohio  Northern,  Dec.  5th. 
34210  "    Ohio  Northern,  Dec.  loth. 
34762   "    Kanawha  June,  12/ 15  crippled. 
29421    "    Elmwood,  12/15  unloading. 
28437   "    Norfolk  Shops,  Dec.  6th. 
34628   "   No  account. 
34516  "    Blue  Ridge,  12/4  ordered  out. 


29781   to  Ohio  Northern,  Nov.  27th. 

28274   "    Niantic,  Dec.  12th,  loading  home. 

1)M)?)'})  "   Louisville  Belt,  Dec.  8th. 

29842   "    Brockton,  Dec.   14th,  empty,  will 

load  home. 
28873   "   Blue    Ridge,    Nov.    i8th,   ordered 

out. 


This  is  but  an  example  of  a  correspondence  that  is  constantly 
beingr  exchaneed  between  the  officials  who  are  in  charo-e  of  the 
Transportation  Department  of  the  various  railways  of  the  country. 

The  demands  of  trade  necessitate  continually  the  transportation 
of  all  manner  of  commodities  over  great  distances. 

Thus,  wheat  is  brought  from  the  Northwest  to  the  seaboard, 
corn  from  the  Southwest,  cotton  from  the  South,  fruit  comes  from 
California,  black  walnut  from  Indiana,  and  pine  from  Michigan. 
In  the  opposite  direction,  merchandise  and  manufactured  articles 
are  sent  from  the  East  to  all  points  in  the  West,  the  North,  and 
Southwest.  The  interchange  is  constant  and  steadily  increasing 
in  all  directions. 

In  the  early  period  of  railways  in  this  country,  when  they  were 
built  chiefly  to  promote  local  interests,  and  the  movement  of  either 
freight  or  passengers  over  long  distances  was  a  comparatively 
small  portion  of  the  traffic,  it  was  customary  for  all  roads  to  do 
their  business  in  their  own  cars,  transferring  any  freight  destined 
to  a  station  on  a  connecting  road  at  the  junction  or  point  of  inter- 


REDUCTION  OF   THE   MILEAGE   BALANCE.  273 

change  of  the  two  roads.  While  this  system  had  the  advantage 
of  keeping  at  home  the  equipment  of  each  road,  it  resulted  in  a 
very  slow  movement  of  the  freight.  As  the  volume  of  traffic  grew, 
and  the  interchange  of  commodities  between  distant  points  in- 
creased, this  slow  movement  became  more  and  more  vexatious. 
Soon  the  railway  companies  found  it  necessary  to  allow  their  cars 
to  run  through  to  the  destination  of  the  freight  without  transfer,  or 
they  would  be  deprived  of  the  business  by  more  enterprising  rivals. 
So  that  to-day  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  freight  business  of 
the  country  is  done  without  transfer  ;  the  same  car  taking  the  load 
from  the  initial  point  direct  to  destination.  The  result  of  this  is, 
however,  that  a  considerable  share  of  all  the  business  of  any  rail- 
way is  done  in  cars  belonging  to  other  companies,  for  which  mile- 
age has  to  be  paid ;  while,  in  turn,  the  cars  of  any  one  company 
may  be  scattered  all  over  the  country  from  Maine  to  California, 
Winnipeg  to  Mexico. 

The  problem  that  constantly  confronts  the  general  superintend- 
ent of  a  railway  is,  how  to  improve  the  time  of  through  freight, 
thereby  improving  the  service  and  increasing  the  earnings  of  the 
company ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  how  to  secure  the  prompt  move- 
ment of  cars  belonging  to  the  company,  getting  them  home  from 
other  roads,  and  reducing  as  far  as  possible  upon  his  own  line  the 
use  of  foreign  cars,  and  the  consequent  payment  of  mileage  there- 
for. 

By  common  consent  the  mileage  for  the  use  of  all  eight-wheel 
freight  cars  has  been  fixed  at  three-quarters  of  a  cent  per  mile  run; 
four-wheel  cars  being  rated  at  one-half  this  amount,  or  three- 
eighths  of  a  cent.  This  amount  would  at  first  sight  appear  to  be 
insignificant,  yet  in  the  aggregate  it  comes  to  a  very  considerable 
sum.  In  the  case  of  some  of  the  more  important  roads  in  the 
country,  even  those  possessing  a  large  equipment,  the  balance 
against  them  for  mileage  alone  often  amounts  to  nearly  half  a  mill- 
ion annually. 

It    becomes  therefore  of  the  first  importance    to  reduce    to  a 

minimum   the   use  of  foreign  cars,   thereby   reducing  the  mileage 

balance  ;  at  the  same  time  avoiding  any  action  that  will  interfere 

with  or  impede  in  any  way  the  prompt  movement  of  traffic. 

The  first  step  toward  accomplishing  this  result  is  to  organize 
18 


2  74  THE  FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

and  fully  equip  the  Car  Accountant's  Department.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  office  has  been  recognized  only  of  late  years.  For- 
merly, and  on  many  lines  even  now,  the  Car  Accountant  was  merely 
a  subordinate  in  the  Auditing  Department  of  the  company.  His 
duties  were  confined  strictly  to  computing  the  mileage  due  to  other 
roads.  This  he  did  from  the  reports  of  the  freight-train  conductors, 
often  in  a  cumbrous  and  mechanical  manner,  making  no  allowance 
for  possible  errors.  At  the  same  time,  he  received  reports  of 
foreign  roads  without  question  and  without  check.  He  was  not 
interested  in  any  way  in  the  operations  of  the  Transportation 
Department  ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  never  occurred  to  him  to 
make  inquiries  as  to  the  proper  use  of  the  cars  belonging  to  his 
own  company.  That  he  left  entirely  to  the  Superintendent.  The 
latter,  on  the  other  hand,  his  time  incessantly  filled  with  many 
duties,  could  give  but  scant  attention  to  his  cars. 

The  Superintendent  of  a  railway  in  this  country  who  has,  let 
us  say,  three  hundred  miles  of  road  in  his  charge,  has  perhaps  as 
great  a  variety  of  occupation,  and  as  many  different  questions  of 
importance  depending  upon  his  decision,  as  any  other  business  or 
professional  man  in  the  community.  Fully  one-half  of  his  time 
will  be  spent  out-of-doors  looking  after  the  physical  condition  of 
his  track,  masonry,  bridges,  stations,  buildings  of  all  kinds.  Con- 
cerning the  repair  or  renewal  of  each  he  will  have  to  pass  judg- 
ment. He  must  know  intimately  every  foot  of  his  track  and,  in 
cases  of  emergency  or  accident,  know  jusf  what  resources  he  can 
depend  upon,  and  how  to  make  them  most  immediately  useful. 
He  will  visit  the  shops  and  round  houses  frequently,  and  will  know 
the  construction  and  daily  condition  of  every  locomotive,  every 
passenger  and  baggage  car.  He  will  consult  with  his  Master 
Mechanic,  and  often  will  decide  which  car  or  engine  shall  and 
which  shall  not  be  taken  in  for  repair,  etc.  He  has  to  plan  and 
organize  the  work  of  every  yard,  every  station.  He  must  know 
the  duties  of  each  employee  on  his  pay-rolls,  and  instruct  all  new 
men,  or  see  that  they  are  properly  instructed.  He  must  keep  in- 
cessant and  vigilant  watch  on  the  movement  of  all  trains,  noting  the 
slightest  variation  from  the  schedules  which  he  has  prepared,  and 
looking  carefully  into  the  causes  therefor,  so  as  to  avoid  its  recur- 
rence.    The  first  thing  in  the  morning  he  is  greeted  with  a  report 


THE  NUMEROUS  DUTIES   OF  A    SUPERINTENDENT.       275 

giving  the  situation  of  business  on  the  road,  the  events  of  the 
night,  movement  of  trains,  and  location  and  volume  of  freight  to 
be  handled.  The  last  thing  at  night  he  gets  a  final  report  of  the 
location  and  movement  of  important  trains  ;  and  he  never  closes 
his  eyes  without  thinking  that  perhaps  the  telephone  will  ring  and 
call  him  before  dawn.  During  the  day  in  his  office  he  has  reports 
to  make  out,  requisitions  to  approve,  a  varied  correspondence,  not 
always  agreeable,  to  answer.  Added  to  this,  frequent  consulta- 
tions with  the  officers  of  the  Traffic  Department,  or  with  those  of 
connecting  lines,  in  reference  to  the  movement  of  through  or  local 
business,  completely  fill  his  time. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  such  a  man  gives  but  slight  at- 
tention in  many  cases  to  the  matter  of  car  mileage.  He  frequently 
satisfies  himself  by  arranging  a  system  of  reports  from  his  agents 
to  his  office  that  give  a  summary  each  twenty-four  hours  of  the 
cars  of  every  kind  on  hand  at  each  station  ;  and  leaves  the  distri- 
bution and  movement  of  the  cars  in  the  hands  of  his  agents.  He 
will  pfive  some  attention  to  the  matter  whenever  he  eoes  over  his 
road  on  other  and  more  pressing  duties.  Occasionally  he  will 
even  take  a  day  or  two  and  visit  every  station,  inquiring  carefully 
as  to  each  car  he  finds  ;  why  it  is  being  held,  for  what  purpose, 
and  how  long  it  has  stood.  Then,  satisfied  with  having,  as  he 
says,  "  shaken  up  the  boys,"  he  will  turn  his  attention  to  otlier 
matters,  and  let  the  cars  take  care  of  themselves.  When  the 
monthly  or  quarterly  statements  are  made  up,  and  he  sees  the 
amount  of  balance  against  his  road  for  car  mileage,  he  gives  it  but 
little  thought,  regarding  it  as  one  of  the  items  like  taxes,  impor- 
tant, of  course,  but  hardly  one  for  which  he  is  responsible. 

His  General  Manager,  however,  will  note  the  car-mileage  bal- 
ance with  more  concern  ;  and,  looking  into  the  matter  carefully,  he 
will  discover  that  the  remedy  is  to  put  the  Car  Accountant  into 
the  Transportation  Department ;  thus  at  once  interesting  him  in 
the  economical  use  of  the  equipment,  and  also  placing  in  the  hands 
of  the  Superintendent  the  machinery  he  needs  to  enable  him  to 
promptly  control  and  direct  the  use  of  all  cars. 

The  Car  Accountant's  Office  may  properly  be  divided  into  two 
main  branches — mileage  and  record.  The  computation  of  mileage 
is  made  in    most    cases    directly  from  the  reports  of  each  train. 


276  THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

These  reports  are  made  by  the  train  conductors,  and  give  the  ini- 
tials and  number  of  each  car  in  their  train,  whether  loaded  or 
empty,  and  the  station  whence  taken  and  where  left.  To  facilitate 
the  computation  of  mileage  of  each  car,  the  stations  on  the  road 
are  consecutively  numbered,  beginning  at  nought — each  succeed- 
ing station  being  represented  by  a  number  equivalent  to  the 
number  of  miles  it  is  distant  from  the  initial  station  ;  excepting  di- 
visional and  terminal  stations,  where  letters  are  used,  to  reduce  the 
work  in  recording.  The  conductors  report  the  stations  between 
which  each  car  moves  by  their  numbers  or  letters.  So  that  all 
that  is  necessary  for  the  mileage  clerk  to  do  is  to  take  the  differ- 
ence between  the  station  numbers  in  each  case,  and  he  has  the  miles 
travelled  by  that  car.  The  mileage  of  each  car  having  been  so 
noted  on  the  conductor's  report,  it  is  then  condensed,  the  mileage 
of  all  cars  of  any  given  road  or  line  being  added  together,  and 
the  results  entered  into  the  ledorers.  At  the  close  of  the  month 
these  books  are  footed,  and  a  report  is  rendered  to  each  road  in 
the  country  of  the  mileage  and  amount  in  money  due  therefor,  in 
each  case  ;  and.  settlements  are  made  accordingly,  either  in  full  or 
by  balance.  This  is  purely  the  accounting  side  of  the  Car  Ac- 
countant's Office. 

There  remains  the  record  branch,  equally  important,  and  to 
the  operating  department  far  more  interesting.  This  consists 
broadly  in  a  complete  record  being  kept  of  the  daily  movement 
and  location  of  every  car  upon  the  road,  local  or  foreign.  At 
first  sight  this  may  seem  to  be  a  difficult  and  complicated  oper- 
ation, but,  in  fact,  it  is  simple.  The  record  is  first  divided  between 
local  and  foreign  ;  local  cars  being  all  cars  owned  by  the  home 
road,  foreign  being  all  those  owned  by  other  roads.  The  local 
books  are  of  large  size,  ruled  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  space  for 
the  daily  movement  or  location  of  each  car  for  one  month,  and 
admit  of  twenty-five  or  fifty  cars  being  recorded  upon  each  page. 
The  record  books  for  foreign  cars  are  similarly  ruled,  a  slight 
change  being  necessary  to  allow  for  the  numbers  and  initials  of  the 
foreign  cars, which  cannot  well  be  arranged  for  in  advance. 

The  train  conductors'  reports  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
record  clerks,  each  one  recording  the  movements  of  certain  initials, 
or  series  of  numbers,  under  the  date  as  shown  by  the  report ;  the 


REPORTS  RECEIVED  BY  THE   CAR   ACCOUNTANT. 


277 


reports  being  handed  from  one  to  another  until  every  car  has  been 
entered  and  the  report  checked. 

In  addition  to  the  conductors'  train  reports,  the  Car  Account- 
ant receives  reports  from  all  junction  stations  daily,  showing  all 
cars  received  from  or  delivered  to  connecting  roads,  whether 
loaded  or  empty,  and  the  destination  of  each.  He  also  has  reports 
from  all  stations  showing  cars  received  and  forwarded,  from  mid- 
night to  midnight,  cars  remaining  on  hand  loaded  or  empty  ;   and 


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A  Page  from  the  Car  Accountant's  Book. 


if  loaded,  contents  and  consignee,  and  also  cars  in  process  of  load- 
ing or  unloading,  and  reports  from  shops  or  yards  showing  cars 
undergoing  repairs,  or  waiting  for  the  same.      In  fine,  he  endeav- 

*  Explanation.  Each  connecting  road  at  each  junction  station  is  assigned  a  number,  and  when 
a  car  is  received  from  a  connection  the  record  is  shown  by  entering  the  road  number  in  the  upper 
space  of  the  block  under  the  proper  date,  followed  by  the  character  x  if  loaded  ;  or,  if  empty,  together 
with  the  time,  as  for  example  :  Car  29421  is  shown  as  received,  Dec.  2d,  from  the  Amherst  &  Lincoln 
Ry.  at  Port  Chester  (10),  loaded  (  x  ),  at  21  o'clock,  org  p.m.  A  similar  entry  in  the  lower  space  of  the 
block  indicates  a  delivery  to  connecting  line.  The  middle  space  of  the  block  is  used  for  the  car  move- 
ment, the  first  number  or  letter  showing  the  station  from  which  the  car  moved.  The  character  x  as  a 
prefix  to  a  station  number  indicates  that  the  car  is  being  loaded  at  that  station.     The  — ,  when  used  as 


278  THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 

qrs  to  get  complete  reports  showing  every  car  that  either  may  be 
in  motion  or  standing  at  any  point  on  his  road.  All  of  these  are 
entered  on  his  record  books.  The  station  reports  check  those  of 
the  conductor,  and  vice  versa.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  rec- 
ord gives  a  complete  history  of  the  movement  and  daily  use  of 
each  car  on  the  road. 

In  case  of  stock  and  perishable  freight,  or  freight  concerning 
whose  movements  quick  time  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  this 
record  is  kept  not  only  by  days  but  by  hours  ;  that  is,  the  actual 
time  of  each  movement  is  entered  on  the  record.  This  is  done  by 
a  simple  system  of  signs,  so  that  an  exact  account  of  the  move- 
ment, giving  date  and  hour  of  receipt  and  delivery,  can  be  taken 
from  the  record.     This  is  frequently  of  the  greatest  value. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  is  customary  now  for  nearly  all  roads  to 
exchange  what  are  known  as  "junction  cards."  They  are  reports 
from  one  to  another  giving  the  numbers  of  all  cars  of  each  road 
passing  junction  stations.  These  junction  reports  when  received 
are  also  carefully  noted  in  the  record,  so  that  an  account  is  kept  in 
a  measure  of  the  movement  of  home  cars  while  on  foreign  roads, 
and  their  daily  location. 

It  would  be  difficult,  and  beyond  the  scope  of  this  article,  to 
tell  of  the  great  variety  of  uses  these  records  are  put  to.  They 
serve  as  a  check  upon  reports  of  the  mileage  clerks,  insuring 
their  accuracy.  The  junction  reports  serve  also  in  a  measure  to 
check  the  reports  of  foreign  roads.  Then,  at  frequent  intervals,  a 
clerk  wnll  go  over  the  record  and  note  every  car  that  is  not  shown 
to  have  moved  within,  say,  five  days,  putting  down  on  a  "deten- 
tion report  "  for  each  station  the  car  number  and  date  of  its  arrival. 

a  prefix,  shows  that  the  car  is  being  unloaded  ;  as  an  affix  it  indicates  a  movement  empty,  or  on  hand 
empty.  When  the  —  is  used  under  a  station  number  it  indicates  a  change  date  record,  that  is,  leaving 
a  station  on  one  date  and  arriving  at  another  on  the  following  date.  Station  numbers  or  letters  without 
other  characters  show  that  the  car  is  loaded. 

The  sign  (B)  is  used  when  a  car  is  left  at  a  station  for  repairs,  while  in  transit.  The  sign  (T)  de- 
notes that  the  lading  was  transferred  to  another  car,  a  transfer  record  being  kept  showing  to  what  car 
transferred  ;  the  sign  (R),  when  a  car  is  on  hand  at  a  station  or  yard  for  repairs.  Shops  are  assigned 
numbers  with  an  O  prefi.x  ;  the  upper  and  lower  spaces  being  used  to  show  delivery  to,  or  receipt  from 
the  shop,  similar  to  the  interchange  record. 

For  convenience  the  twenty-four  hour  system  is  used  for  recording  time,  and  is  shown  in  quarter- 
hours  ;  thus,  10,  12'-,  i8i,  2i3-,  representing  10  a.m.,  12.15  P.M.,  6.30  p.m.,  and  9.45  p.m.  This, 
used  in  the  movement  record,  shows  the  running  time  on  each  division,  or  detention  at  train  terminals. 

The  "  transfer  "  column  shows  the  station  at  which  the  car  was  reported  on  the  last  day  of  the  pre- 
vious month,  and  the  arriving  date  ;  also  from  what  road  received,  with  date. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  EMPTY  CARS.  279 

These  reports  are  sent  to  the  agents  for  explanation,  and  then  sub- 
mitted to  the  Superintendent.  In  a  similar  manner  reports  will 
be  made  showing  any  use  locally  of  foreign  cars.  From  the  rec- 
ord can  be  shown  almost  at  a  glance  the"  location  of  all  idle  cars, 
information  that  is  often  very  valuable,  and  that  when  wanted  is 
wanted  promptly.  Also,  from  the  record,  reports  are  constantly 
being  made  out — "  tracers,"  as  they  are  termed — showing  the  loca- 
tion and  detention  of  home  cars  on  foreign  roads.  In  turn,  foreign 
tracers  are  taken  to  the  record,  and  the  questions  therein  asked 
are  readily  answered  by  the  Car  Accountant. 

Whenever  possible,  the  distribution  of  empty  cars  upon  the 
line  should  be  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  Car  Accountant. 
Where  this  matter  is  left  to  a  clerk  in  the  Superintendent's  office, 
or,  as  has  often  been  the  case,  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  yard- 
masters  and  agents,  the  utmost  waste  in  the  use  of  cars  is  inev- 
itable. An  agent  at  a  local  station  will  want  a  car  for  a  particular 
shipment.  If  he  has  none  at  his  station  suitable  he  will  ask  some 
neighboring  agent ;  failing  there,  he  will  ask  the  Superintendent's 
office,  and  frequently  also  the  nearest  yardmaster.  Some  other 
agent  at  a  distant  station  may  want  the  same  kind  of  car ;  orders 
in  this  way  become  duplicated,  and  the  road  will  not  only  have  to 
haul  twice  the  number  of  cars  needed,  but  very  often  haul  the  same 
kind  of  cars  empty  in  opposite  directions  at  the  same  time.  This 
is  no  uncommon  occurrence  even  on  well-managed  roads,  and,  it 
is  needless  to  say,  is  most  expensive. 

Where  the  cars  are  distributed  under  the  direct  supervision  of 
the  Car  Accountant,  he  has  the  record  at  hand  constantly,  and 
knows  exactly  where  all  cars  are,  and  the  sources  of  supply  to 
meet  every  demand.  Not  only  that,  but  every  improper  use  of 
cars  is  at  once  brouo-ht  to  liofht  and  corrected. 

The  theory  of  the  use  of  foreign  cars  is  that  they  are  permitted 
to  run  through  to  destination  with  through  freight,  on  condition 
that  they  shall  be  promptly  unloaded  on  arrival  at  destination  ; 
that  they  shall  be  returned  at  once  to  the  home  road,  being  loaded 
on  the  return  trip  if  suitable  loading  is  available ;  but  by  no  means 
allowed  to  be  used  in  local  service,  or  loaded  in  any  other  direc- 
tion than  homeward. 

The  practice  of  many   agents,  and  many  roads,   too,  unfortu- 


28o 


THE   FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 


Freight  Pier,  North  River,  New  York. 

nately,  is  hardly  in  keeping  with  this  theory.  Agents,  especially 
if  not  closely  watched,  are  prone  to  put  freight  into  any  car  that 
is  at  hand,  regardless  of  ownership,  being  urged  to  such  course 
by  the  importunities  of  shippers  and,  at  times,  by  the  scarcity  of 
cars.  Frequently  such  irregularities  are  the  result  of  pure  care- 
lessness, agents  using  foreign  cars  for  local  shipments,  simply  be- 
cause they  are  on  hand,  rather  than  call  for  home  cars  which  it 
may  take  some  trouble  and  delay  to  procure.  In  this  way  at  times 
a  large  amount  of  local  business  may  be  going  on  on  one  part  of 
the  road  in  foreign  cars,  while  but  a  few  miles  distant  the  com- 
pany's cars  may  be  standing  idle.  The  Car  Accountant  from  his 
record  can  at  once  put  a  stop  to  this,  and  prevent  its  recurrence. 

Another  valuable  use  to  which  the  Car  Accountant's  Office  may 
be  put  is  to  trace  and  keep  a  record  of  the  movement  of  freight, 
locating  delays,  and  tracing  for  freight  lost  or  damaged.  By  a 
moderate  use  of  the  telegraph  wire  the  Car  Accountant  can  keep 


BENEFITS   OF  A    GOOD  ACCOUNTING   SYSTEM.  28 1 

track  of  the  movement  of  special  freight-trains  concerning  which 
time  is  important,  and  so  insure  regularity  and  promptness  in  their 
despatch  and  delivery.  From  the  mileage  records  may  be  ob- 
tained the  work  of  each  engine  in  freight  service,  the  miles  run, 
the  number  of  loaded  and  empty  cars  hauled  ;  and  by  considering 
two,  or  perhaps  three,  empty  cars  as  equivalent  to  one  loaded  car, 
the  average  number  of  loaded  cars  hauled  per  mile  is  obtained. 
The  information  is  often  valuable,  as  on  many  roads  the  ability  of 
a  Superintendent  is  measured  to  a  considerable  extent  by  the 
amount  of  work  performed  by  the  engines  at  his  command. 

In  many  other  ways  the  resources  of  the  Car  Accountant's 
office  will  be  found  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  Superintendent. 
When  the  office  is  once  fully  organized  and  systematized,  and  all 
in  good  working  order,  the  Superintendent  will  find  that  his  ca- 
pacity for  control  of  his  cars  has  been  more  than  doubled,  while 
the  demands  on  his  time  for  their  care  has  been  really  lessened. 
He  has  all  the  information  he  needs  supplied  at  his  desk,  far  more 
accurate  than  any  he  was  ever  able  to  secure  before,  and  in  the 
most  condensed  form ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  will  find  his 
freight  improving  in  time  over  his  line,  his  agents  will  have  cars 
more  promptly  and  in  greater  abundance  than  ever,  and  last,  and 
most  gratifying  of  all,  his  monthly  balance-sheets  will  show  a 
steady  decrease  in  the  amount  his  road  pays  for  foreign-car  mile- 
age, until  probably  the  balance  will  be  found  in  his  favor,  although 
his  business  and  consequent  tonnage  may  have  increased  mean- 
while. 

III. 

USE    AND    ABUSE    OF    CARS. 

A  package  of  merchandise  can  be  transported  from  New  York 
to  Chicago  in  two  days  and  three  nights.  This  is  repeated  day 
after  day  with  all  the  regularity  of  passenger  service.  So  uniform 
is  this  movement,  that  shippers  and  consignees  depend  upon  it 
and  arrange  their  sales  and  stocks  of  goods  in  accordance  there- 
with. Any  deviation  or  irregularity  brings  forth  instant  complaint 
and  a  threatened  withdrawal  of  patronage.     This  is  true  of  hun- 


282 


THE  FREIGHT-CAR   SERVICE. 


Hay  Storage   Warehouses,  New  York   Central   &  Hudson   River   Railroad,  West  Thirty-third   Sueet,  New  York. 

dreds  of  other  places  and  lines  of  freight  service.  To  accomplish 
it,  there  is  necessary,  first,  a  highly  complicated  and  intricate  or- 
ganization, and,  next,  incessant  watchfulness. 

The  shipper  delivers  the  goods  at  the  receiving  freight-house 
of  the  railway  company.  His  cartman  gets  a  receipt  from  the 
tallyman.  This  receipt  may  be  sent  direct  to  the  consignee,  or 
more  frequently  is  exchanged  for  a  bill  of  lading.  There  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  shipper  ends.      His  goods  are  in  the  hands  of 


DUTIES   OF  A    YARDMASTER.  283 

the  railway  company,  which  to  all  intents  and  purposes  guarantees 
their  safe  and  prompt  delivery  to  the  consignee. 

The  tallyman's  receipt  is  taken  in  duplicate.  The  latter  is 
kept  in  the  freight-house  until  the  freight  is  loaded  in  a  car,  and  is 
then  marked  with  the  initials  and  number  of  the  car  into  which 
the  freight  has  been  loaded.  After  that  it  is  taken  to  the  bill  clerk 
in  the  office,  and  from  it  and  others  is  made  the  waybill  or  bills 
for  that  particular  car. 

Where  the  volume  of  freight  received  at  a  given  station  is 
large,  it  is  customary  to  put  all  packages  for  a  common  destina- 
tion, as  far  as  possible,  in  a  car  by  themselves,  thus  making  what 
are  termed  "straight"  cars.  This  is  not  always  possible,  how- 
ever, or  if  attempted  would  lead  to  loading  a  very  large  number 
of  cars  with  but  light  loads.  So  that  it  becomes  necessary  to 
group  freight  for  contiguous  stations  in  one  car,  and  again  often 
to  put  freight  for  widely  distant  cities  in  the  same  car.  These 
latter  are  known  as  "mixed"  cars.         * 

We  will  assume  the  day's  receipt  of  freight  finished,  and  most 
of  the  cars  loaded.  About  6  p.m.  the  house  will  be  "  pulled,"  that 
is,  those  cars  already  loaded  will  be  taken  away,  and  an  empty 
"string"  of  cars  put  in  their  place.  An  hour  later,  this  "  string  " 
will  in  turn  be  loaded  and  taken  out,  and  the  operation  repeated, 
until  all  the  day's  receipt  of  freight  is  loaded.  Meanwhile  other 
freight  will  have  been  loaded  direct  from  the  shippers'  carts  on  to 
cars  on  the  receiving  tracks.  For  all  cars,  there  is  made  out  in  the 
freight-office  a  running  slip  or  memorandum  bill,  which  gives  simply 
the  car  number,  initials,  and  destination.  These  are  given  to  the 
yardmaster  or  despatcher,  and  from  them  he  "  makes  up  "  the  trains. 

To  a  very  great  degree,  the  good  movement  of  freight  depends 
upon  the  vigilance  of  the  yardmasters  and  the  care  with  which 
they  execute  their  duties.  In  an  important  terminal  -yard,  the 
yardmaster  may  have  at  all  times  from  one  to  two  thousand  cars, 
loaded  and  empty.  He  must  know  what  each  car  contains,  what 
is  its  destination,  and  on  what  track  it  is.  To  enable  him  to  do 
this,  he  has  one  or  more  assistants,  day  and  night.  They,  in  turn, 
will  have  foremen  in  charge  of  yard  crews,  each  of  the  latter  hav- 
ing immediate  charge  of  one  engine.  The  number  of  engines  em- 
ployed will  vary  constantly  with  the  volume  of  the  freight  handled, 


284  THE   FREIGHT-CAR    SERVICE. 

but  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  there  will  be  at  all  times  nearly  as 
many  engines  employed  in  shifting  in  the  various  yards  and  im- 
portant stations  on  a  line  as  there  are  road  engines  used  in  the 
movement  of  the  freight  traffic. 

The  work  of  the  yard  goes  on  without  intermission  day  and 
night,  Sundays  as  well  as  week-days.  The  men  there  employed 
know  no  holidays,  get  no  vacations.  The  loaded  cars  are  coming 
from  the  freight-houses  all  day  long,  in  greater  numbers  perhaps 
in  the  afternoon  and  evening,  but  the  work  of  loading  and  moving 
cars  goes  on  somewhere  or  other,  at  nearly  all  times.  As  often 
as  the  yardmaster  gets  together  a  sufficient  number  of  cars  for  a 
common  destination  to  make  up  a  train,  he  gathers  them  together, 
orders  a  road  engine  and  crew  to  be  ready,  and  despatches  them. 
In  the  make  up  of  "  through  "  trains,  care  has  to  be  exercised  to 
put  together  cars  going  to  the  same  point,  and  to  "group"  the 
trains  so  that  as  little  shifting  as  possible  may  be  required  at  any 
succeeding  yard  or  terminal,  where  the  trains  may  pass.  To  ac- 
complish this,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  various  routes  is 
necessary,  and  minute  acquaintance  with  the  various  intermedi- 
ate junction  yards  and  stations. 

The  train  once  "  made  up  "  and  in  charge  of  the  road  crew,  its 
progress  for  the  next  few  hours  is  comparatively  simple.  It  will 
go  the  length  of  the  "  run  "  at  a  rate  of  probably  twenty  miles  per 
hour,  subject  only  to  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  the  road.  At 
the  end  of  the  division,  if  a  through  train,  it  will  be  promptly  trans- 
ferred to  another  road  crew  with  another  engine,  and  so  on. 
Each  conductor  takes  the  running  slip  for  each  car  in  his  train. 
He  also  makes  a  report,  giving  the  cars  in  his  train  by  numbers 
and  initials,  whether  loaded  or  empty,  how  secured ;  and  detailed 
information  in  regard  to  any  car  out  of  order,  or  any  slight  mishap 
or  delay  to  his  train.  These  reports  go  to  the  Car  Accountant. 
The  running  slips  stay  with  the  cars,  being  transferred  from  hand 
to  hand  until  the  cars  reach  their  destination.  At  junction  yards 
where  one  road  terminates  and  connects  with  one  or  more  foreign 
roads,  a  complete  record  is  kept,  in  a  book  prepared  especially 
for  the  purpose,  of  every  car  received  from  and  delivered  to  each 
connecting  road,  A  copy  of  this  information  is  sent  daily  to  the 
Car  Accountant. 


FAST  FREIGHT  LINES. 


287 


! 


"  Dummy  "  Tiain  and  Boy  on  Hudson  Street,  New  York. 


A  road  is  expected 
to  receive  back  from  a  con- 
necting" line  any  car  tliat  it  has 
previously  delivered  loaded.  It 
becomes  very  necessary  to  know 
just  what  cars  have  been  so  de- 
livered. Without  such  a  record 
a  road  is  at  the  mercy  of  its  con- 
nections, and  may  be  forced  to 
receive  and  move  over  its  length  empty  foreign  cars  that  it  never 
had  in  its  possession  before,  thus  paying  mileage  and  being  at  the 
expense  of  moving  cars  that  brought  it  no  revenue  whatever.  The 
junction  records  put  a  complete  check  on  such  errors,  and  by 
their  use  thousands  of  dollars  are  saved  annually. 

To  still  more  expedite  the  movement  of  through  freight,  very 
many  so-called  fast  freight  lines  exist  in  this  country,  as,  for  exam- 
ple, the  Traders'  Despatch,  the  Star  Union,  the  Merchants'  De- 
spatch Transportation  Company,  the  Red,  the  White,  the  Blue, 
the  National  Despatch,  etc.  Some  of  these  lines  are  simply  co- 
operative lines,  owned  by   the   various   railway  companies  whose 


288 


THE   FREIGHT-CAR    SERVICE. 


.^=iW 


roads  are  operated  in  connection  with  one  another.  Their  organ- 
ization is  simple.  A  number  of  companies  organize  a  Hne,  which 
they  put  in  charge  of  a  general  manager.  Each  company  will  as- 
sign to  the  line  a  number  of  cars,  the  quota 
of  each  being  in  proportion  to  its  miles  of 
road.  The  general  manager  has  control 
of  the  line  cars.  He  has  agents  who  so- 
licit business  and  employees  who  watch  the 
movement  of  his  line  cars,  and  report  the 
same  to  him.  He  keeps  close  record  of 
his  business,  and  reports  promptly  to  the 
transportation  officer  of  any  road  in  his 
line  any  neglect  or  delinquency  he  may 
discover.  The  earnings  of  the  line  and  its 
expenses  are  all  divided  pro  rata  among 
the  roads  interested.  Such  a  line  is  simply  an  organization  to  in- 
sure prompt  service  and  secure  competitive  business,  and  the  en- 
tire benefit  goes  to  the  railway  companies. 

Other  lines  are  in  the  nature  of  corporations,  being  owned  by 
stockholders  and  operating  on  a  system  of  roads  in  accordance 
with  some  agreement  or  contract.  Others,  again,  are  organized 
for  some  special  freight,  and  are  owned  wholly  by  firms  or  indi- 
viduals, such  as  the  various  dressed-beef  lines  and  some  lines  of 
live-stock  cars.  These  are  put  in  service 
simply  for  the  mileage  received  for  their  use, 
and  in  many  cases  the  railway  companies  have 
no  interest  in  them  whatever. 

The  movement  of  "  straio^ht "  cars  and 
"  solid  "  trains  is  comparatively  simple.  But 
there  is  a  very  large  amount  of  through  freight, 
particularly  of  merchandise,  that  cannot  be  put 
into  a  "  straight  "  car.  A  shipper  in  New  York 
can  depend  on  his  goods  going  in  a  straight 
car  to  St.  Louis,  Denver,  St.  Paul,  etc.,  but  he 
can  hardly  expect  a  straight  car  to  any  one  of  hundreds  of  inter- 
mediate cities  and  towns.  Still  less  is  it  possible  for  a  road  at  a 
small  country-town,  where  there  are  perhaps  but  one  or  two  facto- 
ries, to  load  straight  cars  to  any  but  a  very  few  places.     To  over- 


CARS  FOR   SPECIAL    USES. 


289 


Coal  Car,  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey. 


come  this  difficulty,  transfer  freight-houses  have  to  be  provided. 
These  are  usually  located  at  important  terminal  stations. 

To  them  are  billed  all  mixed  cars  containing  through  freight. 
These  cars   are  unloaded  and    reloaded,   and  out   of  a  hundred 

"  mixed "  cars  will  be  made  probably 
eighty  straight  and  the  balance  local. 
This  necessarily  causes  some  delay,  but 
it  is  practically  a  gain  in  time  in  the  end, 
as  otherwise  every  car  would  have  to  be 
reloaded,  and  held  at  every  station  for 
which  it  contained  freight. 

The  variety  of  articles  that  is  offered 
to  a  railway  company  for  transportation  is  endless.  Articles  of  all 
sizes  and  weights  are  carried,  from  shoe-pegs  by  the  carload  to  a 
single  casting  that  weighs  thirty  tons.  The  values  also  vary  as 
widely.  Some  cars  will  carry  kindling  wood  or  refuse  stone  that 
is  worth  barely  the  cost  of  loading  and  carrying  a  few  miles,  while 
others  will  be  loaded  with  teas,  silks,  or  merchandise,  where  per- 
haps the  value  of  a  single  carload  will  exceed  twenty-five  or  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  The  great  bulk  of  all  freight  is  carried  in  the 
ordinary  box-cars,  coal  in  cars  especially  planned  for  it,  and  coarse 
lumber  and  stone  on  flat  or  platform  cars.  But  very  many  cases 
arise  that  require  especial  provision  to  be  made  for  each.  Chicago 
dressed  beef  has  made  the  use  of  the  refrigerator  cars  well  known. 
These  cars  are  also  used  for  carrying  fruit  and  provisions.  They 
are  of  many  kinds,  built  under  various  patents, 
but  all  with  a  common  purpose  ;  that  is,  to 
produce  a  car  wherein  the  temperature  can 
be  maintained  uniformly  at  about  40  degrees. 
On  the  other  hand,  potatoes  in  bulk  are 
brought  in  great  quantities  to  the  Eastern 
seaboard  in  box-cars,  fitted  with  an  additional 

or  false  lining  of  boards,  and  in  the  centre  an  ordinary  stove 
in  which  fire  is  kept  up  during  the  time  the  potatoes  are  in 
transit. 

An  improvement  on  this  plan  is  afforded  by  the  use  of  cars 
known  as  the  Eastman  Heater  Cars.     They  are  provided  with  an 
automatic  self-feeding  oil-stove,  so  arranged  that  fire  can  be  kept 
19 


':RATO!i 


290 


THE   FREIGHT-CAR    SERVICE. 


up  under  the  car  for  about  a  fortnig-ht  without  attention.      These 
are  largely  used  in  the  fruit  trade. 

For  carrying-  milk,  special  cars  have  to  be  provided,  as  partic- 


Unloading  a  Tram  of  Truck-wagons,  Long  Island   Railroad. 


ular  attention  has  to  be  given  to  the  matter  of  ventilation  in  con- 
nection with  a  small  amount  of  cooling  for  the  proper  carrying  of 
the  milk.  Not  only  the  cars  but  the  train  service  has  to  be  espe- 
cially arranged  for  in  particular  cases. 

As  an  instance,  the  Long  Island  Railroad  Company  makes  a 
specialty  of  transporting  farmers'  truck-wagons  to  market.  For 
this  purpose  they  have  provided  long,  low,  flat  cars,  each  capable 
of  carrying  four  truck-wagons.  The  horses  are  carried  in  box- 
cars, and  one  farmer  or  driver  is  carried  with  each  team,  a  coach 
being  provided  for  their  use.  During  the  fall  of  the  year,  they  fre- 
quently carry  from  45  to  50  wagons  on  one  train,  charging  a  small 
sum  for  each  wagon,  and  nothing  for  the  horses  or  men.  These 
trains  run  three  times  weekly,  and  are  arranged  so  as  to  arrive 
in  the  city  about  midnight,  returning  the  next  day  at  noon.  The 
trains  by  themselves  are  not  very  remunerative,  but  by  furnishing 
this  accommodation,  farmers  who  are  thirty  or  forty  miles  out  on 
Long  Island  can  have  just  as  good  an  opportunity  for  market- 
orardenine  as   those  who  live  within  driving  distance  of  the  city. 


ACCIDENTS  IN  FREIGHT  MOVEMENT 


293 


This  builds  up  the  country  farther  out  on  the  island,  which  in  turn 
ofives  the  road  other  business. 

The  movement  of  freight  is  not  always  successfully  accom- 
plished. In  spite  of  good  organization,  every  facility,  incessant 
watchfulness,  accidents  will  occur,  freight  will  be  delayed,  cars  will 
break  down,  trains  will  meet  with  disaster.  The  consequences 
sometimes  fall  heavily  on  the  railway  companies.  The  loss  is  fre- 
quently out  of  all  proportion  to  the  revenue.  The  following  in- 
stance is  from  the  writer's  own  experience : 

Some  carpenters  repairing  a  small  low  trestle  left  chips  and 
shavings  near  one  of  the  bents.  A  passing  train  dropped  some 
ashes.  The  shavings  caught  fire  and  burnt  one  or  two  posts  in  one 
bent.  The  section  men  failed  to  notice  the  fire.  Toward  evening 
a  freight  train  came  to  the  trestle,  the  burnt  bent  gave  way,  and 
the  train  was  derailed.  Two  men  were  killed,  one  severely  in- 
jured, and  eighteen  freight  cars  were  burned.  The  resulting  loss 
to  the  railroad  company  was  $56,113.  Of  this  amount,  the  loss 
paid  on  freight  was  $39,613.12.  As  a  matter  of  interest,  and  to 
show  the  disparity  between  the  value  of  the  commodities  and  the 
earnings  from  freight  charges  received  by  the  railway  company, 
the  amount  of  each  is  given  here  in  detail,  taken  from  the  actual 
records  of  the  case  : 


Property  destroyed. 


Butter,  200  pounds  at  35  cents. . 

Ore,  75.9  tons  at  $3.50 

Paper,  4,600  pounds 

Pulp,  10,400  pounds 

Shingles,  85  M 

Horsenails 

Lumber 

Apples,  1 59  barrels 

Hops,  209  bales,  37,014  pounds 


Amount  paid  by 
railroad  company. 


$70  00 
265  80 
269  10 
160  00 
192  50 
2,986  06 
252  00 
508  80 

34,908  86 


$39,613  12 


Freight  charges  on 
the  same. 


$0  50 
56  91 

8  74 
12  65 
II  00 

37  44 
18  40 
15  26 
59  22 


This  was  during  the  fall  of  1882,  when  hops  sold  in  New  York 
for  over  %\  per  pound. 

The  plan  of  payment  for  car  service  by  the  mile  run,  without 
reference  to  time,  has  the  merit  of  simplicity  and  long-established 


294  THE  FREIGHT-CAR    SERVICE. 

usage.  It  is,  however,  in  reality,  crude  and  unscientific,  and  has 
brought  with  it,  in  its  train,  numerous  disadvantages. 

The  owner  of  a  car  is  entitled,  first,  to  the  proper  interest  in 
his  investment,  that  is,  on  the  value  of  the  car ;  second,  to  a  proper 
amount  for  wear  and  tear  or  for  repairs.  The  life  of  a  freight  car 
may  be  reasonably  estimated  at  ten  years,  so  that  ten  per  cent,  on 
its  value  would  be  a  fair  interest-charge.  The  average  amount 
for  repairs  varies  directly  as  to  the  distance  the  car  moves,  and 
may  be  put  at  one-half  cent  per  mile  run. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  the  ordinary  method  of  payment  the  car- 
owner  is  compensated  for  interest  at  the  rate  of  ^  of  a  cent  for  the 
time  that  the  car  is  in  motion,  but  receives  nothing  for  all  the  time 
the  car  is  at  rest.  If  cars  could  be  kept  in  motion  for  any  consider- 
able portion  of  each  twenty-four  hours,  this  would  prove  ample. 
But  in  practice  it  is  found  that  few  roads  succeed  in  getting  an 
averao-e  movement  of  all  cars  for  more  than  one  hour  and  a  half  in 
each  twenty-four.  This  gives  about  five  per  cent,  interest  on  the 
value  of  the  car,  only  one-half  of  what  is  generally  conceded  to  be 
a  fair  return.  Still  further,  there  is  no  inducement  to  the  road  on 
which  a  foreign  car  is  standing  to  hasten  its  return  home.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  a  direct  advantage  in  holding  the  car  idle  until 
a  proper  load  can  be  found  for  it,  rather  than  return  it  home  empty. 
The  most  serious  abuses  of  the  freight  business  of  the  country 
have  o^rown  from  this  state  of  affairs.  It  costs  nothinof  but  the  use 
of  the  track  to  hold  freight  in  cars ;  consequently  freight  is  held  in 
cars  instead  of  being  put  in  storehouses,  frequently  for  weeks  and 
months  at  a  time. 

There  is  but  little  earnest  attempt  made  to  urge  consignees  to 
remove  freight ;  on  the  contrary,  the  consignees  consider  that  they 
can  leave  their  freight  as  long  as  they  choose,  and  that  the  railroad 
companies  are  bound  to  hold  it  indefinitely. 

One  special  practice  has  grown  up  as  a  result  of  this  condition, 
that  of  shippers  sending  freight  to  distant  points  to  their  own 
order.  This  practice  is  most  prolific  of  detention  to  cars,  and  yet 
is  so  strongly  rooted  in  the  traffic  arrangements  of  the  country 
that  it  is  most  difficult  to  put  an  end  to  it.  Cars  "to  order"  will 
frequently  stand  for  weeks  before  the  contents  are  sold  and  the 
consignee  is  discovered,  during  which  time  the  cars  accumulate, 


THE   PER   DIEM  PLAN. 


295 


Floating   Cars,  New  York   Harbor. 


Stand  in  the  way,  occupy 
valuable  space,  and  have 
to  be  handled  repeatedly 
by  the  transportation  de- 
partment of  the  road,  all 
at  the  direct  cost  of 
handlinor  to  the  road  it- 
self,  and  loss  of  interest 
to  the  owner  of  the  car. 
Only  two  methods  have  so  far  been  suggested  to  abate  or  put 
an  end  to  the  evils  which  have  been  but  slightly  indicated  above. 
The  first  is  a  change  in  the  method  of  payment  for  car  service  to  a 
compensation  based  upon  time  as  well  as  mileage,  which  is  com- 
monly known  as  the  "  per  diem  plan." 

This  plan  consists  in  paying  for  the  use  of  all  foreign  cars  a 
fixed  sum  per  mile  run,  based  on  the  supposed  cost  of  repairs  of 
the  car,  and  a  price  per  day  based  upon  what  is  estimated  to  be  a 
fair  return  for  the  interest  on  its  value.  This  plan  was  originally 
suggested  by  a  convention  of  car  accountants,  and  was  brought  up 
and  advocated  by  Mr.  Fink,  the  Chairman  of  the  Trunk  Line  Com- 
mission, in  New  York,  in  the  fall  of  1887.  At  his  suggestion,  and 
largely  through  his  influence,  it  was  tried  by  a  few  of  the  roads 
(the  Trunk  Lines  and  some  of  their  immediate  connections)  during 
the  early  part  of  the  year  1888;  the  amounts  as  then  fixed  being 


296  THE   FREIGHT-CAR    SERVICE. 

one-half  cent  per  mile  run,  and  fifteen  cents  per  day.  The  results 
of  this  experiment,  while  they  were  quite  satisfactory  to  the  friends 
of  the  proposed  change,  yet  were  not  sufficiently  conclusive  to 
demonstrate  the  value  of  the  plan  to  those  who  were  indifferent  or 
hostile  to  it. 

For  various  reasons,  chiefly  local  to  the  roads  in  question,  the 
plan  was  discontinued  after  a  few  months'  trial.  The  experiment 
resulted,  however,  in  the  collection  of  a  large  mass  of  statistics 
and  other  data,  the  study  of  which  has  led  many  to  believe  that 
the  plan  is  the  proper  solution  of  the  difficulties  experienced,  and,  if 
adjusted  so  as  not  to  add  too  much  to  the  burden  of  those  railway 
companies  who  are  borrowers  of  cars,  that  it  would  meet  with  the 
approval  of  the  railway  companies  throughout  the  country.  It  cer- 
tainly provided  a  strong  inducement  to  all  roads  to  promptly  handle 
foreign  cars,  and  in  that  particular  it  proved  a  great  advance  over 
the  existing  methods  of  car  service.  The  charge  per  day  of  fifteen 
cents  was  found  too  high  in  practice.  Ten  cents  per  day  and  a  half- 
cent  per  mile  would  produce  a  net  sum  to  the  car-owner  very 
slightly  in  excess  of  three-fourths  of  a  cent  per  mile  run.  While 
this  appears  but  small,  yet  it  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  amount 
in  the  aggregate  to  a  considerable  sum,  and  would  serve  to  urge 
all  railway  companies  to  promptly  unload  and  send  home  foreign 
cars.  This  plan  would  result,  if  generally  adopted,  in  largely  in- 
creasing the  daily  movement  or  mileage  of  all  cars,  or,  what  would 
be  equivalent,  would  practically  amount  to  a  very  considerable  in- 
crease in  the  equipment  of  the  country. 

The  plan  has  recently  been  approved  by  the  General  Time 
Convention,  and  there  is  strong  probability  that  it  will  be  very  ex- 
tensively adopted  and  given  a  trial  by  all  the  railways  during  the 
year  1890. 

The  second  method  of  remedying  the  existing  evils  of  car  ser- 
vice is  in  a  uniform  and  regular  charge  for  demurrage,  or  car  rent- 
al, to  be  collected  by  all  railroad  companies  with  the  same  regular- 
ity and  uniformity  that  they  now  collect  freight  charges.  This  car 
rental,  or  demurrage  charge,  would  not  be  in  any  sense  a  revenue 
to  the  car-owner ;  the  idea  of  it  being  that  it  is  a  rental  to  the  de- 
livering company,  not  only  for  the  use  of  the  car  but  for  the  track 
on  which  it  stands,  and  the  inconvenience  and  actual  cost  that  the 


A    UNIFORM  DEMURRAGE    CHARGE.  297 

company  is  put  to  in  repeated  handling  a  car  that  is  held  await- 
ing the  pleasure  of  the  consignee  to  unload.  The  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  making  such  a  charge  has  been  the  unwillingness  of  any 
railroad  company  to  put  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  free  move- 
ment of  freight  to  its  line,  and  the  fear  that  an  equivalent  charge 
would  not  be  made  by  some  one  of  its  competitors.  Of  late,  how- 
ever, the  serious  disadvantages  resulting  from  the  privileges  given 
to  consignees  at  competing  points,  by  allowing  them  to  hold  cars 
indefinitely,  have  led  the  different  railway  companies  to  come  to- 
gether and  agree  upon  a  uniform  system  of  demurrage  charges  at 
certain  competing  points. 

If  these  two  plans  could  be  put  into  operation  simultaneously, 
a  fair  and  uniform  method  of  charging  demurrage,  coupled  with 
the  per  diem  and  mileage  plan  for  car  service,  the  results  would 
be  most  satisfactory  not  only  to  the  railway  companies  and  car- 
owners,  but  also  to  the  community. 

The  matter  of  freight  transportation  is  a  vast  one,  and  whole 
chapters  might  be  written  on  any  one  of  the  various  topics  that 
have  been  but  slightly  mentioned  in  this  sketch. 

The  subject  is  fraught  with  difficulties ;  new  complications 
arise  daily  which,  each  in  its  turn,  have  to  be  met  and  mastered. 
The  publicity  recently  given  to  the  various  phases  of  the  railway 
problem  has  done  much  to  enlighten  the  public  mind  in  regard  to 
these  difficulties. 

The  result  has  already  been  evident  in  the  growing  spirit  of 
mutual  forbearance  and  good-will  between  the  railway  companies 
and  the  public.  Let  us  hope  that  this  will  continue,  and  that  as 
time  goes  on  their  relations  will  steadily  improve,  so  that  the  public, 
while  yielding  nothing  of  their  legitimate  demand  for  safe,  prompt, 
and  convenient  service,  will  at  the  same  time  see  that  this  can  only 
be  secured  by  allowing  the  railways  a  fair  return  for  the  services 
rendered ;  while  the  railways  will  learn  that  their  true  interest  lies 
in  the  best  service  possible  at  moderate,  uniform  rates. 


HOW  TO   FEED   A   RAILWAY. 

Bv  BENJAMIN  NORTON. 

The  Many  Necessities  of  a  Modern  Railway — The  Purchasing  and  Supply  Departments — 
Comparison  with  the  Commissary  Department  of  an  Army — Financial  Importance — 
Immense  Expenditures — The  General  Storehouse — Duties  of  the  Purchasing  Agent 
— The  Best  Material  the  Cheapest— Profits  from  the  Scrap-heap— Old  Rails  Worked 
over  into  New  Implements — Yearly  Contracts  for  Staple  Articles — Economy  in  Fuel 
— Tests  by  the  Best  Engineers  and  Firemen — The  Stationery  Supply — Aggregate 
Annual  Cost  of  Envelopes,  Tickets,  and  Time-tables — The  Average  Life  of  Rails- 
Durability  of  Cross-ties— What  it  Costs  per  Mile  to  Run  an  Engine— The  Paymas- 
ter's Duties — Scenes  during  the  Trip  of  a  Pay-car. 

HE  commissary  or  supply  department  of  a  railroad 
is  not  unlike  that  of  a  large  army.  Like  a  vast 
army,  its  necessities  are  many,  and  the  various  de- 
partments which  make  up  the  whole  system  must 
be  provided  with  their  necessary  requirements  in 
m&m\  order  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which  it  is  operated. 
If,  ao-ain,  we  regard  a  railroad  as  a  huge  animal,  the  quantity 
of  supplies  needed  to  fill  its  capacious  maw  is  something  over- 
whelming. It  is  always  hungry,  and  the  daily  bill  of  fare  (which 
includes  pretty  much  everything  known  to  trade)  is  gone  through 
with  an  appetite  as  vigorous  and  healthy  at  the  end  as  it  exhibits 
in  the  beo-inning.  Yet  how  few  there  are  who  realize  the  impor- 
tant part  this  one  feature  plays  in  the  operation  of  the  thousands  of 
miles  of  railroad  throughout  the  world  !  Upon  the  proper  conduct 
of  this  department  depends  very  largely  the  success  of  any  road, 
so  far  as  its  relation  to  the  stockholders  is  concerned  ;  for  while, 
as  has  been  the  case  in  the  past,  combinations  and  pools  have 
aided  in  maintaining  rates,  and  have  served  to  increase  the  in- 
come, and  attention  has  been  paid  to  securing  additional  business 
in   every   possible   way,    the    "  out-goes "    have    often   been    over- 


AGGREGATE    OF  SUPPLIES    ON  THE   READING.  299 

looked,  to  the  detriment  of  dividends  and  the  general  welfare  of 
the  property. 

The  supplies  must  be  furnished  in  any  event,  in  order  that  the 
various  departments  may  perform  their  allotted  duties — coal  for  the 
engines,  stationery  for  the  clerks,  ties  and  rails  for  the  tracks,  oils 
for  the  lubrication  of  the  thousands  of  axles  daily  turning,  passage- 
tickets  for  the  travellers,  and  a  thousand  and  one  things  which  are 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  safe  and  efficient  conduct  of  every  rail- 
road in  active  operation.  Each  item  serves  its  purpose,  and, 
properly  assimilated,  keeps  alive  all  the  functions  of  one  vast  and 
complicated  system.  It  is  easy  to  see,  then,  the  importance,  first, 
of  proper  economy  in  buying,  and  then  a  correct  and  systematic 
distribution  of  all  supplies.  On  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Railroad,  for  instance,  the  annual  supply  bills  aggregate  more  than 
$3,000,000,  covering  such  supplies  as  those  just  mentioned,  and,  in 
fact,  everything  which  is  purchased  and  used  in  the  operation  of 
the  road ;  so  that  on  a  large  system  like  that,  the  commissary  de- 
partment requires  no  end  of  detail,  both  in  the  purchase  and  the 
distribution  of  all  material. 

The  expenditure  for  lubricating  oils,  waste,  and  greases  alone 
amounts  to  more  than  $150,000  per  annum,  while  the  outlay  for  fuel 
represents  about  $1,200,000,  and  this  is  comparatively  a  small  sum, 
since  that  road  is  a  coal  road,  so  called,  and  the  cost  for  fuel,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  There  the  store-room 
system,  which  has  now  been  pretty  generally  adopted  by  many  of 
the  larger  roads,  is  fully  exemplified.  With  a  General  Store- 
keeper in  charge,  all  supplies  purchased  are  accounted  for  through 
him,  and  distributions  are  made  daily  among  the  sub-store  rooms, 
which  are  located  at  convenient  points  ;  and  they  in  turn  distribute 
among  the  various  departments,  for  consumption,  all  accounting 
daily  to  the  General  Store-keeper  at  Reading. 

To  give  an  idea  as  to  the  quantity  of  material  required  in  the 
service  on  such  a  road,  it  may  be  stated  that  from  twelve  to  fif- 
teen car-loads  of  supplies  per  clay  are  shipped  to  various  points. 
When  we  consider  that  an  ordinary  car  will  carry  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  tons  of  freight,  we  find  that  the  annual  requirements  will 
average  about  four  thousand  car-loads,  or,  say,  about  fifty  thou- 
sand tons,  and  if  all  the  cars  were  made  up  into  one  solid  train 


3CXD  now  TO  FEED  A    RAILWAY. 

they  would  occupy  fully  twenty-five  miles  of  track,  and  consume 
an  hour  and  a  half  passing  a  given  point  running  at  the  ordinary 
speed  of  freight-trains. 

To  account  carefully  for  all  this  requires  necessarily  a  large 
army  of  clerks  and  other  assistants,  though,  with  the  fundamental 
principles  correct,  it  is  no  more  difficult  to  account  for  large  quan- 
tities than  for  small.  The  supplies  are  purchased  in  the  first  in- 
stance, delivered  at  the  General  Storehouse,  are  there  weighed 
or  measured  and  receipted  for,  are  then  distributed  on  requisition, 
and  finally  delivered  to  the  several  departments  when  needed ; 
are  charged  out  to  the  various  accounts,  after  consumption,  and 
all  returns  and  records  are  finally  kept  on  the  books  of  the  Gen- 
eral Store-keeper. 

It  would  be  a  large  army  indeed  which  would  require  so  much 
for  its  maintenance ;  and,  remembering  the  hundreds  of  roads, 
small  and  large,  throughout  the  country,  the  measure  of  one's 
comprehension  is  nearly  reached  in  estimating  the  amount  of 
money  and  the  thousands  of  tons  of  material  represented. 

If  the  buyer  of  railroad  stocks  for  investment,  besides  looking 
into  the  returns  of  freight  and  passenger  business  for  his  decision, 
would  investigate  carefully  the  method  adopted  for  the  purchase 
and  distribution  of  supplies  on  any  road  in  which  he  may  be  inter- 
ested, he  might  get  information  enough  to  satisfy  himself  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  earnings  were  dribbling  out  through  this  de- 
partment, and  that,  as  a  result,  his  stock  might  eventually  cease 
to  be  a  dividend  payer. 

In  the  matter  of  buying,  the  result  depends  entirely  upon  the 
purchasing  agent,  and  this  position  must  necessarily  be  occupied 
by  a  man  of  honor  and  integrity,  coupled  with  a  reasonable  amount 
of  shrewdness  and  aptitude  for  such  business.  As  this  depart- 
ment covers  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  pretty  much  all  the  known 
branches  of  trade,  the  buyer  cannot,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
thoroughly  master  the  whole  field  as  an  expert;  but  he  can  never- 
theless inform  himself  in  the  most  important  articles  of  manufact- 
ure to  the  extent  of  preventing  deception  or  fraud.  The  field  is 
extensive,  and  the  sooner  railroad  companies  realize  that  the  pur- 
chasing agent  is  not  a  mere  order  clerk,  the  sooner  they  will  dis- 
cover that  their  disbursements   for   supplies  are  very  much   less. 


VARIED   EXPERIENCE    OF  A    PURCHASING   AGENT.       30 1 

and  that  the  chief  part  of  the  leakage  has  found  its  source  in  this 
very  department. 

Exactly  the  same  principles  are  involved  in  this  matter  as  in 
the  case  of  a  thrifty  proprietor  of  a  country-store,  whose  profits 
each  year  depend  materially  upon  the  closeness  and  care  with 
which  his  stock  in  trade  is  purchased  from  the  wholesale  dealers 
in  a  large  city.  A  purchasing  agent's  experience  is  varied  in  the 
extreme,  dealinof  as  he  does  with  all  classes  of  salesmen  and  busi- 
ness  houses.  There  is  no  end  to  the  operations  which  skilful 
salesmen  ofo  throupfh  in  offerine  their  stock ;  but  after  some  ex- 
perience  a  sharp  buyer  will  be  able  to  fortify  himself  against  the 
best  of  them — even  against  the  clever  vender  of  varnishes  who 
disposed  of  one  hundred  barrels  of  his  wares  in  small  lots  to  dif- 
ferent buyers,  on  a, sample  of  maple-sirup.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  salesman  who,  when  a  buyer  asked  him  if  his  oil  gummed,  re- 
plied that  "it  gummed  beautifully,"  lost  the  chance  of  ever  selling 
any  goods  in  that  quarter. 

As  has  been  said,  the  ordinary  or  general  supplies  consumed 
in  the  operation  of  the  average  railroad  include  almost  everything 
known  to  trade.  Tobacco,  for  the  gratification  of  the  taste  of  a 
gang  of  men  out  on  the  road  with  the  snow-plough,  is  not  outside 
the  list ;  and  even  pianos,  for  some  trains  (since  the  days  of  abso- 
lute comfort  and  possible  extravagance  have  begun)  for  the  benefit 
of  passengers  setting  out  on  long  journeys  ;  nor  do  we  lose  sight 
of  books,  bath-tubs,  and  barbers.  The  practical  feature  involved, 
however,  calls  for  an  endless  variety  of  expensive  as  well  as  inex- 
pensive materials. 

It  is  a  safe  rule  to  follow  that  anything  which  goes  into  the 
construction  either  of  track,  equipment,  or  buildings,  should  be 
the  best.  Care  should  always  be  exercised  against  the  use  of  any 
material  the  failure  of  which  might  be  the  cause  of  loss  of  life,  and 
consequently  result  in  heavy  damages  to  the  company.  Iron  alone 
enters  so  extensively  into  railroad  construction  and  operation  that 
it  is  safe  to  say  three-fourths  of  all  manufactured  in  this  country  is 
consumed  directly  or  indirectly  in  this  way  ;  and  besides  its  use  in 
rails  and  fastenings  (the  latter  including  spikes,  fish-plates,  and  bolts 
and  nuts),  and  in  the  many  thousand  tons  of  car-wheels  and  axles 
annually  required,  there  must  be  reckoned  the  almost  unlimited  num- 


302  HOW  TO   FEED   A    RAILWAY. 

ber  of  castings  daily  required  in  the  way  of  brake-shoes,  pedestals, 
draw-heads,  grate-bars,  etc.  The  lumber  and  timber  for  buildings, 
bridges,  platforms,  and  crossings,  and  the  large  quantity  of  glass 
which  is  necessary,  are  among  other  large  items  of  expenditure. 

Lubricating  and  illuminating  oils,  paints  and  varnishes,  soaps, 
chalk,  bunting,  hardware,  lamps,  cotton  and  woollen  waste,  clocks, 
brooms,  and  such  metals  as  copper,  pig  tin,  and  antimony  are  only 
a  few  of  the  many  articles  of  diet  which  a  railroad  requires  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together,  and  give  it  strength  to  perform  the  great 
duty  it  owes  to  commerce  and  the  public.  After  they  have  all 
served  their  purposes,  such  as  cannot  be  worked  over  again  in  the 
shops,  and  are  not  entirely  consumed,  are  consigned  to  the  scrap- 
heap  under  the  head  of  "  old  material  " — an  all-important  consid- 
eration in  the  economical  management  of  any  road.  On  many 
roads  very  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  sale  of  scrap.  As  a  gen- 
eral rule,  the  purchasing  agent  has  charge  of  it,  and  if  he  shows 
any  shrewdness  in  buying,  he  will  exercise  more  or  less  ingenuity 
in  selling.  Most  railroad  scrap  has  a  fixed  value  in  the  market. 
Quotations  for  old  rails,  car-wheels,  and  wrouo-ht  iron  are  found 
in  all  the  trade  journals  ;  but  as  in  buying  one  can  usually  buy  of 
someone  at  prices  less  than  market  price,  so  in  selling  he  can  often 
find  a  buyer  who  is  willing  to  pay  more  than  the  regular  quota- 
tion. As  it  is  found  not  wise  in  the  long  run  to  purchase  ahead 
on  some  prospective  rise,  so  in  selling  it  is  equally  true  that  hold- 
ing scrap  over  upon  the  possibility  of  a  rise  in  prices  is  not  always 
for  the  best  advantage. 

There  has  always  been  a  demand  for  old  iron  rails,  and  recently 
use  for  old  steel  rails  has  been  found.  They  are  worked  over  at 
the  rolling  mills  into  crowbars  and  shovels,  spikes,  fish-plates, 
bolts,  and  other  necessary  things  to  be  employed  in  construction 
and  maintenance.  Not  long  since  an  experiment  with  old  steel 
rails  was  successfully  performed,  whereby  they  were  melted  and 
poured  into  moulds  for  use  as  brake-shoes.  The  result  showed  a 
casting  of  unusual  hardness  which  would  outwear  three  ordinary 
cast-iron  shoes.  This  opens  up  an  entirely  new  field  in  railroad 
economy,  for  with  ordinary  foundry  appliances  accumulations  of 
old  steel  rails  can  be  worked  over  and  cast  into  all  sorts  of  shapes 
and  patterns  to  better  advantage  than  selling  them  at  a  nominal 


PROFIT  FROM  THE    SCRAP  HEAP.  303 

price  to  outside  buyers.  While  worn-out  car-wheels  will  gener- 
ally bring  more  money  from  wheel  manufacturers  than  they  com- 
mand in  the  open  market,  it  has  not  always  been  found  the  best 
policy  to  compel  the  mill  from  which  the  new  wheels  are  pur- 
chased to  take  too  many  of  them.  It  is  apt  to  encourage  the  use 
of  too  much  old  material  in  the  manufacture  of  the  new  ;  and  while 
the  company  may  consider  that  it  is  realizing  much  more  money 
on  sales  of  the  old  wheels  than  the  market  price,  it  does  not  take 
into  account  the  inferior  stock  it  is  getting  back,  or  the  fact  that 
possibly  when  the  mileage  is  reckoned  the  wheels  have  signally 
failed  to  run  as  long  as  they  ought.  In  the  aggregate  about  ten 
per  cent,  of  the  original  cost  of  all  supplies  purchased  is  realized 
out  of  the  sales  of  old  material.  From  cast-iron  wheels  and  old 
rails,  however,  the  percentage  is  much  larger,  for  while  at  present 
new  passenger  car-wheels  of  this  class,  weighing  about  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds,  are  worth  about  ten  dollars  each,  they  will 
bring  in  the  market,  when  worn  out  after  running  say  fifty  thou- 
sand miles,  about  twenty  dollars  per  ton.  Four  wheels  go  to  the 
ton,  which  represents  five  dollars  per  wheel,  or  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  original  cost.  With  old  rails  the  percentage  is  even  higher, 
in  the  present  condition  of  the  rail  market.  Old  iron  rails  are 
worth  within  four  or  five  dollars  of  the  price  of  new  steel,  and  the 
old  steel  about  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  price  of  the  new.  These 
high  percentages  assist  in  making  up  for  the  materials  which  are 
entirely  consumed  in  the  service,  and  which  never  form  a  part  of 
the  ordinary  scrap-heap,  such  as  oils,  waste,  and  paints. 

While  the  majority  of  general  supplies  just  mentioned  briefly 
may  be  arranged  for  as  required  and  purchased  from  month  to 
month  upon  regular  requisitions,  there  are  certain  staple  articles 
which  are  provided  for  in  advance  by  contract.  Among  them 
principally  are  the  engine-coal,  rails  and  ties,  stationery,  passage- 
tickets,  and  time-tables.  More  money  is  expended  for  such  sup- 
plies than  for  any  others,  and  contracts  with  responsible  business 
houses,  for  their  delivery  at  fixed  prices  for  the  limit  of  at  least  a 
year,  are  generally  made  to  insure,  in  the  first  place,  the  lowest 
market  rates  and,  again,  to  make  the  delivery  certain. 

Locomotive  fuel  is  the  largest  single  item  of  expense  in  the 
operation  of  any  road,  the  consumption  of  it  running  up  as  high  as 


304  IfOJV  TO   FEED  A    RAILWAY. 

a  million  tons  per  annum  on  some  large  roads  ;  and  while  there  are 
a  few  exceptional  cases  where  wood  is  used  as  fuel,  coal  is  the 
necessary  element  in  nearly  every  ca-se  in  America  to-day. 

Of  the  two  general  varieties — bituminous  or  soft,  and  anthra- 
cite or  hard — it  is  safe  to  say  that  bituminous  coal  is  the  more 
economical,  assuming  that  the  grade  employed  is  the  best,  this 
economy  lying  both  in  the  original  cost  and  the  fact  that  the  bulk 
of  it  goes  to  serve  its  purpose,  there  being  comparatively  little 
waste  in  the  way  of  ashes  ;  while  the  anthracite  produces  many 
ashes  and  clinkers,  requires  much  more  care  and  attention  on  the 
part  of  the  stoker  or  fireman,  and  costs,  as  a  general  rule,  about 
thirty  per  cent.  more.  Economy,  however,  should  not  be  carried 
too  far  in  any  branch  of  the  service,  and  if  the  passenger  traffic  be 
heavy  the  use  of  soft  coal  may  be  a  great  detriment.  To  a  traveller 
there  can  be  nothinof  more  disaofreeable  than  the  smoke  and 
cinders  emanating  from  it  ;  and  if,  besides  this,  the  road  be  an 
especially  dusty  one,  the  combination  of  dust,  smoke,  and  cinders 
will  be  quite  sufficient  to  turn  the  tide  of  travel  in  some  other 
direction  and  over  another  route. 

For  freight  service  bituminous  coal  is  decidedly  the  best,  and 
perhaps  might  not  be  out  of  place  on  short  local  passenger  trains  ; 
but  the  company  that  provides  hard-coal-burning  engines  for 
passenger  trains,  and  soft-coal  burners  for  freight,  does  about  the 
right  thing,  and  economizes  as  far  as  practicable  in  this  particular. 
In  making  contracts  for  this  important  commodity  the  necessity  of 
careful  tests  in  advance  is  very  apparent,  and  such  trials  are 
generally  left  with  the  best  engineers  and  firemen  ;  otherwise  it 
might  be  difficult  to  get  at  all  the  qualifications.  On  some  roads 
inducements  offered  to  firemen  have  brought  the  consumption  of 
fuel  down  to  the  most  economical  point,  and  it  is  surprising  how 
much  depends  upon  their  good  judgment  in  this  matter. 

Now  that  heating  cars  direct  from  the  engines  is  coming  into 
general  use,  and  State  legislatures  have  given  the  subject  their  con- 
sideration, the  consumption  of  the  domestic  sizes  of  coal  as  fuel  in 
cars  is  growing  less  ;  but  this,  too,  is  still  a  very  important  matter. 

Stationery  is  not  only  a  very  significant  item,  but  also  an  expen- 
sive one.  This  includes  all  the  forms  and  blanks  used  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  freight  and  passenger  business,  and  there  is  an  endless 


ANNUAL    EXPENDITURE   FOR    TIME-TABLES.  305 

variety  of  them — the  inks,  pens,  pencils,  mucilage,  sealing-wax,  and 
envelopes,  besides  many  other  odds  and  ends.  Perhaps  the  en- 
velopes represent  one  of  the  largest  single  items  of  expense  in 
this  line.  The  hundreds  of  thousands  of  them  used  in  the  course 
of  a  year,  even  at  low  prices,  mean  an  outlay  of  many  thousands 
of  dollars.  Agents  must  send  in  daily  reports,  there  must  be  covers 
for  all  the  correspondence  passing  between  the  different  depart- 
ments, while  the  daily  average  amount  of  outside  correspondence 
is  very  considerable.  It  is  surprising  how  many  dollars  might  be 
saved  in  this  direction,  not  only  by  a  judicious  contract,  but  by  a 
careful  use  of  the  supply. 

When  a  railroad  company  takes  up  the  question  of  time-tables, 
it  has  a  matter  of  importance  to  handle  which  on  many  roads  re- 
ceives very  little  consideration.  When  the  passenger  traffic  is 
heavy,  the  number  of  travellers  during  the  year  running  into  the 
millions,  the  demand  for  time-tables  is  very  large.  This  refers 
directly  to  the  time-table  sheets  or  folders,  which  every  company 
must  keep  on  hand  at  its  stations,  and  in  other  public  places  and 
hotels,  for  the  convenience  of  the  traveller,  in  addition  to  the 
printed  schedules  which  are  framed  and  hung  up  conspicuously  on 
the  walls  of  its  waiting-rooms.  A  neat  and  attractive  folder  for 
general  circulation  is  very  desirable,  particularly  if  competition  is 
very  strong.  There  is  more  virtue  in  a  neatly  made  up  schedule 
of  trains  than  one  would  suppose.  One  in  doubt  is  apt  to  reason 
that  the  road  is  kept  up  in  a  corresponding  condition,  and  that  the 
trains  are  made  up  on  the  same  plan,  and  consequently  would  pre- 
fer to  go  by  that  route  rather  than  by  one  whose  trains  were  ad- 
vertised on  cheap  leaflets. 

Fifteen  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  dollars  per  annum  for 
envelopes  alone  is  spent  on  some  roads,  and  twice  as  much  more 
perhaps  for  time-tables. 

Passage-tickets,  including  all  varieties  of  regular  and  special 
tickets,  such  as  mileage  books  or  coupons,  family  trip-books,  and 
school-tickets  are  also  an  item  of  large  expense,  the  annual  con- 
sumption covering  many  tons,  which  once  used  are  of  no  value 
save  as  waste  paper  ;  yet  they  are  absolutely  indispensable  in  the 
operation  of  the  road.  Yearly  contracts  for  these  are  made,  and 
while  the  actual  cost  of  a  single  ticket  may  not  exceed  one  7mli, 


3o6  JIOIV  TO   FEED  A    RAILWAY. 

the  aggregate  on  a  road  carrying  fifteen  millions  to  twenty  millions 
or  more  passengers  per  annum  is  considerable. 

To  induce  the  public  to  travel,  and  encourage  shippers  to  send 
their  freight  to  market  over  any  road,  attention  must  first  be  paid 
to  the  condition  of  the  track  and  rolling  stock. 

It  is  not  economy  to  allow  anything  to  be  out  of  repair,  on  the 
supposition  that  it  is  less  expensive  than  it  would  be  to  spend  com- 
paratively little  from  day  to  day  to  keep  it  up.  The  day  of  reckon- 
ing will  come  in  the  end,  and  the  sacrifice  will  be  considerable. 
As  the  track  is  the  fundamental  feature,  the  cross-ties  or  sleepers 
and  rails  should  be  the  best.  Iron  rails  are  practically  out  of  date, 
and  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  time  is  approaching  when  wooden 
ties  will  be  things  of  the  past.  Where  the  traffic  is  light,  heavy 
steel  rails  may  not  be  necessary  ;  but  it  has  been  generally  found 
economical  to  put  in  use  rails  which  do  not  weigh  less  than  sixty- 
seven  or  seventy  pounds  to  the  yard ;  an  even  greater  weight  than 
this  is  not  ill-advised — they  require  fewer  cross-ties  to  the  mile, 
and  in  consequence  the  force  of  men  required  to  keep  the  track  in 
condition  is  less.  Light  rails  are  soon  worn  and  battered  out  on  a 
road  over  which  heavy  engines  are  run  and  large  trains  are  hauled. 
The  powerful  locomotives  now  built  require  a  well-kept  track  and 
a  solid  and  substantial  road-bed.  Heavier  and  faster  trains  have 
tended  to  reduce  the  average  life  of  rails,  even  though  the  weight 
of  the  rails  has  also  been  steadily  increasing.  Circumstances  vary 
on  the  different  roads,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  eight  to  ten  per 
cent,  of  all  rails  in  the  track  must  be  renewed  every  year.  This 
brings  the  average  life  of  the  steel  rails  down  to  about  twelve  years, 
under  ordinary  conditions.  On  some  divisions,  however,  where 
the  traffic  is  frequent,  and  in  yards  where  a  good  deal  of  switching 
is  done,  and  the  rails  are  under  pressure  constantly,  the  average 
is,  of  course,  very  much  less — even  as  low  as  two  or  three  years. 

Aside  from  the  durability  of  the  timber  employed,  plenty  of  face 
for  the  rail  bearings,  and  uniform  thickness  and  length,  are  very 
important  requirements  in  contracts  for  ties.  While  white  oak  is 
generally  considered  the  most  durable  for  this  purpose,  the  growth 
of  this  timber  is  limited  except  in  certain  sections  of  the  country, 
so  that  cedar,  cypress,  chestnut,  and  yellow  pine  are  more  com- 
monly used  than  any  other  class.     The  millions  of  them  used  for 


DUTIES   OF  THE   STORE-KEEPER.  307 

renewals  and  new  roads  each  year  are  gradually  reducing  our 
forests  ;  and,  like  some  of  the  European  roads,  we  shall  some  day 
fall  back  upon  metal,  which  (while  its  life  may  not  be  measured) 
will  make  so  rigid  a  track  that  the  traveller  over  long  distances 
will  be  worn  out  with  his  journey,  and  the  rolling  stock  will  require 
frequent  repairs  and  overhauling.  The  practice  of  creosoting 
cross-ties  is  growing  rapidly,  and  this  tends  to  increase  their  dura- 
bility three  or  four  times.  While  the  first  cost  of  such  ties  may  be 
double  that  for  the  unprepared  timbers,  the  result  in  the  end  is 
economical,  for  the  labor  alone  required  to  take  out  an  old  tie  and 
put  in  a  new  one  costs  at  least  twelve  cents. 

The  general  store-room  is  properly  the  intermediate  stage,  so 
far  as  supplies  are  concerned,  between  the  different  departments  of 
the  road  and  the  Auditor,  who  charges  up  all  material  used  to  the 
different  accounts  into  which  his  system  is  divided.  Properly, 
everything  in  the  nature  of  material,  however  small,  directly  or  in- 
directly passes  through  the  Store-keeper's  books.  An  account  is 
kept  with  each  locomotive,  station  agent,  switchman,  and  flagman, 
so  that  to  a  penny  everything  consumed  in  the  operation  of  a  road 
is  accurately  known.  To  accomplish  this  the  Store-keeper,  of 
course,  must  be  a  good  accountant,  and  at  the  same  time  be  more 
or  less  of  an  expert  in  railroad  material.  Under  an  economical  ad- 
ministration of  his  affairs  he  is  able  to  save  a  great  deal  of  money 
for  his  company.  By  his  system,  with  the  aid  of  data  from  the  me- 
chanical department,  he  can  tell  the  average  number  of  miles  run 
during  the  year  to  a  pint  of  oil  or  a  ton  of  coal ;  the  number  of 
pounds  of  coal  consumed  per  mile  run,  as  well  as  the  number  of 
pints  of  oil  for  the  same  distance.  He  can  give  in  detail  the  cost 
in  cents  per  mile  run  for  all  the  oil,  tallow,  and  waste,  fuel,  and 
other  supplies  consumed,  and  can  account  to  a  nicety  for  all  the 
lanterns,  brooms,  hardware,  and  other  material  which  he  has  re- 
ceived and  distributed. 

The  following  statement  of  averages  represents  fairly  what  it 
costs  to  run  a  locomotive  under  ordinary  conditions  : 

Averages. 

Number  of  miles  run  to  pint  of  oil 1 5.32 

Number  of  miles  run  to  ton  of  coal 46.17 

Number  of  pounds  of  coal  per  mile  run 48.62 

Number  of  pints  of  oil  per  mile  run 0.06 


3o8  JIOIV  TO   FEED  A    RAILWAY. 

Cost  in  Cents  per  Mile  Run. 

Cents. 
For  oil,  tallow,  and  waste 0.32 

For  fuel 7-42 

For  engineers 3-6o 

For  firemen i-79 

For  wipers  and  watchmen 1.25 

For  water  supply 0.49 

For  supplies  (miscellaneous) o.  10 

For  repairs 2.40 

Total 17-37 

He  will  find  that  some  engineers  and  firemen  are  more  extrav- 
agant than  others,  and  that  some  station  agents  and  flagmen  do 
not  perform  their  respective  duties  with  near  so  much  regard  for 
economy  as  others  do  under  exactly  similar  circumstances.  In 
such  cases  a  report  is  made  and  a  reminder  from  the  Superintend- 
ent follows,  calling  attention  to  such  carelessness.  The  result  is 
apparent  at  the  next  monthly  comparison. 

Prompt  payment  of  all  supply  bills  helps  to  insure  economy, 
and  any  company  unable  to  make  its  payments  promptly  and  regu- 
larly, suffers  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  always  ;  for  a  firm  notable 
to  know  whether  its  accounts  are  to  be  settled  in  thirty  or  ninety 
days  cannot  afford  to  allow  all  the  discounts  which  it  otherwise 
might,  and  this  may  mean  an  extra  expense  every  year  of  many 
thousands  of  dollars. 

So  far  as  the  employees  are  concerned,  it  is  for  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  company  to  have  a  fixed  time  for  the  pay-day.  They 
need  their  money  and  should  get  it  regularly.  Any  road  on  which 
the  men  are  paid  at  uncertain  times  may  be  subject  to  incalculable 
losses.  It  is  apt  to  provoke  dishonesty  and  carelessness.  The 
road  which  is  bankrupt  and  forced  to  pass  its  pay-day  to  some  in- 
definite time  is  always  hampered  by  some  of  the  most  inferior  class 
of  servants  in  the  market.  Except  in  some  instances  where  spe- 
cial laws  have  been  passed  requiring  railroad  companies  to  meet 
their  pay-rolls  oftener,  once  each  month  is  generally  recognized  as 
pay- time,  and  on  large  roads  it  would  be  simply  out  of  the  ques- 
tion for  the  pay-rolls  to  be  made  up  correctly  and  the  men  paid  off 
sooner.  The  paymaster  is  the  wage-distributing  medium,  and  by 
virtue   of  his   generosity   will   command  as   much  respect  as  the 


THE  PAYMASTERS   CAR.  309 

President  of  the  road.  No  officer's  face  is  more  familiar  than  his, 
and  surely  no  one  connected  with  the  institution  is  looked  for  with 
more  eagerness  by  the  hard-working  employees.  It  is  no  easy 
task  he  has  to  perform,  and  the  responsibility  for  the  millions  of 
dollars  paid  out  in  this  way  annually  is  very  great.  This  respon- 
sibility, however,  has  been  very  much  reduced  on  some  roads, 
where  wages  are  paid  by  checks  entirely.  Under  some  circum- 
stances this  system  will  not  work  satisfactorily,  especially  on  a  road 
running  through  a  sparsely  settled  country.  The  employees  may 
have  to  stand  a  good  round  discount  to  some  store-keeper  or 
tradesman  in  order  to  secure  their  money.  The  best  and  most 
satisfactory  return  for  services  can  be  nothing  less  than  solid  cash  ; 
it  encourages  better  attention  to  business  and  relieves  the  men 
from  possible  annoyance  and  inconvenience.  The  Paymaster's 
car,  which  is  virtually  a  moving  bank  or  cashier's  office,  and  ar- 
ranged conveniently  for  the  payment  of  money  to  the  men  as  they 
pass  through,  is  generally  run  "  special,"  upon  notice  in  advance 
to  all  loremen  or  heads  of  departments,  either  by  telegraph  or,  as 
on  some  roads,  by  the  display  of  special  signal  flags,  which  are  car- 
ried on  the  front  end  of  the  locomotive  of  some  regular  train  the 
day  before  the  car  is  run  over  any  division.  In  this  way  all  men 
employed  along  the  line  of  the  road,  whether  at  or  between  sta- 
tions, are  notified  of  the  Paymaster's  coming,  and  it  does  not  usu- 
ally require  any  other  inducement  than  this  to  bring  them  all  out. 
There  is  nothing  that  will  prompt  them  to  jump  higher  and  run 
faster  than  the  whistle  of  the  pay-train  as  it  comes  around  the 
curve  to  the  station.  Men  have  been  known  to  forget  their  names, 
and  do  other  foolish  things  under  the  excitement  of  drawing  their 
month's  pay.  The  fellow  who  said  he  could  not  write  all  his  name 
when  requested  by  the  Paymaster  to  sign  the  pay-roll,  but  offered 
to  write  as  much  of  it  as  he  could,  after  some  deliberation  made  a 
cross  on  the  sheet  with  all  the  care  and  nicety  he  could  muster. 
Others  who  could  not  write  have  been  very  slow  to  admit  it,  and 
have  pleaded  haste  as  an  excuse  for  not  doing  so.  So  far  as  Italians 
are  concerned  (and  what  railroad  service  is  now  complete  without 
its  gang  of  Italian  laborers  ?),  they  are  usually  designated  by  num- 
bers, and  in  some  cases  their  foremen  have  thought  it  well  to  name 
them  after  prominent  statesmen  or   other  public  men,  or  possibly 


3IO  HOW  TO   FEED   A    RAILWAY. 

some  of  the  head  officials  of  the  company.  To  run  across  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  Daniel  Websters  on  the  same  road  is  not  surprising, 
and  the  President  of  the  company  himself  is  liable  to  have  a  half- 
dozen  namesakes  throughout  the  different  divisions  of  his  road.  A 
cage  of  jabbering  monkeys  is  not  a  more  amusing  spectacle  than 
some  gangs  of  Italian  laborers  receiving  their  month's  pay. 

The  pay-department  can  be  made  very  systematic,  and  to  pro- 
mote economy  and  accuracy  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  it  should 
be.  The  Paymaster  is  not  simply  a  medium  through  whom  wages 
are  distributed.  He  may  be  one  of  the  most  important  officers  of  his 
company,  and  ferret  out  frauds  and  dishonesty  which  otherwise  might 
never  be  discovered.  He  knows  all  the  men,  and  they,  of  course, 
know  him.  In  fact,  he  is  the  only  one  connected  with  the  road 
whose  recognition  among  all  the  employees  is  absolutely  certain. 

Some  idea  of  the  enormous  amount  of  money  earned  annually 
by  the  railroad  men  in  this  country  may  be  formed  from  the  state- 
ment that  it  requires  about  $1,000,000  per  month  to  pay  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  there  are  a  good  many  roads  on  which  the 
average  monthly  pay-roll  embraces  from  fifteen  thousand  to  twenty 
thousand  names  ;   in  some  cases  even  more. 

When  the  pay-rolls  are  all  turned  over  to  the  Paymaster,  prop- 
erly approved  by  each  head  of  department,  he  notifies  the  Super- 
intendent or  Trainmaster  of  his  proposed  trip,  mapping  out  in  de- 
tail the  route,  which  is  usually  the  same  each  month.  The  signals 
or  telegrams  are  sent  ahead  to  the  various  foremen,  and  the  car  is 
ordered  ready  for  the  journey.  The  funds  are  arranged  in  de- 
nominations to  suit  the  circumstances,  with  plenty  of  small  change, 
and  enough  money  for  a  day  or  two  only  at  a  time  is  provided. 
The  pay  for  the  flagmen  at  crossings,  and  switchmen  on  the  road, 
as  well  as  for  the  agents  at  small  stations,  is  generally  done  up  in 
envelopes,  and,  as  the  train  speeds  by,  the  packages  are  handed  or 
thrown  out  at  the  proper  places  ;  and  sometimes,  to  warrant  a  safe 
delivery,  a  forked  stick  is  used,  into  which  the  envelope  is  put,  thus 
giving  it  plenty  of  weight  and  saving  it  from  being  tumbled  about 
promiscuously  on  the  ground.  Much  time  is  saved  in  this  way,  and 
the  pay-train  is  able  to  keep  well  out  of  the  way  of  any  regular 
train  which  may  be  following.  So  the  pay-car  flies  along,  only 
stopping  at  some  large  station  where  the  number  of  employees  en- 


SCENES  ALONG    THE   ROUTE    OE  A    PAY  CAR.  31I 

gaged  is  sufficient  to  warrant  it.  These  are  quickly  paid  off,  how- 
ever, and  the  journey  is  continued.  Perhaps  at  some  junction  a 
freight  crew  is  met ;  and  as  these  fellows  have  to  get  their  money 
when  they  can,  a  stop  is  made  on  the  road  to  give  them  a  chance 
to  do  it.  At  some  stations  are  found  two  or  three  gangs  of  section 
or  track  men,  a  watchman,  an  agent  and  his  assistant,  a  pumper, 
and  possibly  a  mail-carrier.  Perhaps  a  discharged  trainman  will 
turn  up  also,  who  may  have  part  of  a  month's  pay  coming  to  him. 
Later  in  the  day  it  may  be  a  shop  gang  of  five  hundred  or  one 
thousand  men,  consisting  of  carpenters,  painters,  machinists,  and 
boiler-makers,  and  these  are  paid  in  order,  each  set  of  men  by  it- 
self There  is  no  noise  or  disturbance,  everything  goes  like  clock- 
work, as  all  pass  through  in  regular  order,  each  gang  or  class  pre- 
ceded by  its  foreman,  and  the  men  arranged  in  line  in  the  order  in 
which  their  names  appear  on  the  pay-rolls.  When  night  comes, 
and  two  or  three  hundred  miles  of  road  have  been  covered,  the 
balance  of  the  funds  is  carefully  locked  up  in  the  safe  on  board,  the 
car  run  in  upon  some  convenient  siding,  and  the  engine  housed  for 
a  wiping  and  a  thorough  preparation  for  the  next  day's  run.  The 
car  is  generally  provided  with  comfortable  beds  for  the  Paymaster 
and  his  clerks,  and  during  the  paying-off  time  they  practically  live 
in  the  car.  This  insures  early  starts  in  the  morning,  and  on  large 
roads  the  necessity  for  haste  is  very  apparent,  where  possibly  two 
or  three  weeks  are  consumed  each  month  in  paying  off  the  rolls. 

The  average  traveller,  spinning  across  the  country  at  forty 
miles  an  hour,  is  not  apt  to  think  of  the  countless  details  involved 
in  the  make-up  of  the  train  in  which  he  rides  or  the  track  over 
which  he  is  wheeled ;  but  when  he  considers  how  safely  the  mill- 
ions of  passengers  are  annually  carried  over  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  miles  or  more  of  railroad  in  this  country  alone,  he 
may  be  brought  to  realize  that  quite  as  much  depends  upon  the 
quality  of  the  material  entering  into  the  construction  of  the  train 
and  tracks  as  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  engineer  in  the  cab,  or  the 
conductor,  brakeman,  switchmen,  and  train-despatcher  who  per- 
form their  respective  responsible  duties  in  connection  therewith. 
Feeding  a  railroad,  then,  means  a  great  deal  more  than  the  major- 
ity of  mankind  supposes. 


THE   RAILWAY  MAIL  SERVICE. 

By  THOMAS  L.  JAMES. 

An  Object  Lesson  in  Postal  Progress — Nearness  of  the  Department  to  the  People — The 
First  Travelling  Post-Office  in  the  United  States — Organization  of  the  Department 
in  1789 — Early  Mail  Contracts — All  Railroads  made  Post-routes — Compartments 
for  Mail  Clerks  in  Baggage-cars — Origin  of  the  Present  System  in  1862 — Important 
Work  of  Colonel  George  S.  Bangs — The  "  Fast  Mail"  between  New  York  and  Chi- 
cago— Why  it  was  Suspended — Resumption  in  1877 — Present  Condition  of  the  Ser- 
vice— Statistics — A  Ride  on  the  "Fast  Mail" — Busy  Scenes  at  the  Grand  Central 
Depot — Special  Uses  of  the  Five  Cars — Duties  of  the  Clerks — How  the  Work  is 
Performed — Annual  Appropriation  for  Special  Mail  Facilities — Dangers  Threaten- 
ing the  Railway  Mail  Clerk's  Life — An  Insurance  Fund  Proposed — Needs  of  the 
Service — A  Plea  for  Radical  Civil  Service  Reform. 


A 


T  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  in  the 
Post-Office  exhibit,  was  a  double  picture  showing- 
the  postal  service  at  the  beginning  of  the  century 
and  as  it  is  to-day.  On  one  side  was  a  postman 
3^  — perhaps  Franklin — on  horseback,  jogging  over 
a  corduroy  road,  "  through  the  forest  primeval," 
making  a  mile  or  two  an  hour ;  and  on  the  other 
a  representation  of  the  fast  mail  train,  the  ''  catcher  " 
taking  a  pouch  from  the  "  crane"  as  it  passes  at  the  rate  of  fifty 
miles  an  hour  !  Standing  in  the  foreground  is  the  pretty  daughter 
of  the  village  postmaster  with  the  mail  pouch  just  thrown  from  the 
car  in  her  hand,  a  group  of  rustics,  with  ill-concealed  admiration 
in  their  eyes,  watching  her  as  the  swiftly  passing  train  goes  on  its 
journey.  This  picture  is  not,  perhaps,  a  work  of  art,  but  it  is  an 
"  object  lesson,"  giving  at  a  glance  the  progress  that  our  country 
has  made  in  a  hundred  years. 

Of  all  the  executive  departments  of  the  Government,  the  Post- 
Office  is  the  one  nearest  the  people,  and  the  one  with  which  they 
are  the  most  familiar.     In  addition  to  its  work  of  collecting,  trans- 


THE   FIRST  TRAVELLING    POST-OFFICE. 


Z^Z 


■m^z^w^.<^Mm 


^^■'~^>^&^<4.; 


porting,  and  delivering  legitimate  mail  matter,  viz.,  letters,  news- 
papers, and  magazines,  it  is  the  greatest  express  company  of  the 
continent,  since  it  has 
an  office  at  almost  ev- 
ery cross-roads,  even 
carrying  merchandise 
cheaper  (considering 
the  distance)  than  its 
rivals.  Its  registra- 
tion system  affords  a 
means  of  forwarding 
valuable  packages,  at 
a  slight  additional 
cost,  with  almost  ab- 
solute security.  It  is 
the  oreatest  bankinof 
institution  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  The 
transactions  of  its 
money-order  system, 
not  only  in  our  own 
country,  but  with  al- 
most every  nation  in 
the  civilized  world 
(Russia  and  Spain  excepted),  run  up  to  wellnigh  fabulous  sums. 
Its  drafts  are  easily  obtained  and  cheap.  Its  notes  are  "  gilt 
edged,"  and  have  never  been  repudiated.  With  the  creation  of 
the  Postal  Savings  Bank  system,  the  working  people's  depart- 
ment in  its  organization  will  approach  perfection. 

The  first  mention  of  a  travelling  post-office  occurs  in  a  me- 
morial addressed  to  Congress  in  November,  1776,  by  Ebenezer 
Hazard,  Postmaster-General  under  the  Continental  Congress,  in 
which  he  states  that,  owing  to  the  frequent  removals  of  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  he  was  subjected  to  extraordinary  expense,  diffi- 
culties, and  fatigues,  "  having  paid  an  exorbitant  price  for  every 
necessary  of  life,  and  having  been  obliged,  for  want  of  a  horse — 
which  could  not  be  procured — to  follow  the  army  on  foot." 

Directly    after   the    inauguration    of   General    Washington,  in 


'm 


Postal   Progress,  1776-1876. 
(Facsimile  of  a  print  in  the  Post-Office  Department.) 


3^4 


THE   RAILWAY  MAIL    SERVICE. 


April,  1789,  the  organization  of  the  Post-Office  Department  fol- 
lowed, and  Samuel  Osgood,  of  Massachusetts,  was  appointed 
Postmaster-General.  That  the  people  might  derive  the  greatest 
possible  advantage  from  an  institution  peculiarly  their  own,  this 
gigantic  monopoly — for  it  is  nothing  else — was  created,  and  all 
competition  forbidden.  The  Postmaster-General  had  then  but  one 
clerk,  and  there  were  but  75  post-offices  and  1,875  utiles  of  post- 
roads  in  the  United  States  ;  the  cost  of  mail  transportation  being 
$22,081,  the  total  revenue,  $37,935,  the  total  expenditures,  $32,- 
140;  leaving  a  surplus  of  $5,795.  From  this  time  until  1836  the 
contracts  made  for  the  transportation  of  the  mails  do  not  mention 
any  kind  of  service  on  post-roads  except  stages,  sulkies,  four-horse 
post-coaches,  horseback,  packets,  and  steam-boats. 

The  growth  of  the  Railway  Mail  Service  has  been  coincident 
with  that  of  the  railway  itself,  and  the  importance  of  both  cannot 
be  underestimated  in  considering  the  future  development  of  the 


The   Pony   Express — The   Relay. 


country.     Almost  as  soon  as   a  railroad  is  fully  organized  it  be- 
comes a  mail  contractor  with  the  Department. 

The  Act  of  Congress  constituting  every  railroad  in  the  United 
States  a  post-route  was  approved  July  7,  1838.  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral Barry,  in  his  annual  report  for  1836,  speaks  of  the  multipli- 


EARLY  MAIL    FACILITIES.  3 15 

cation  of  railroads  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and  suggests  it 
as  a  subject  worthy  of  inquiry,  whether  measures  may  not  be  taken 
to  secure  the  transportation  of  the  mail  on  them,  and  adds  :   "  Al- 


The  Overland   Mail  Coach— A  Star  Route. 


ready  have  the  railroads  between  Frenchtown,  in  Maryland,  and 
Newcastle,  in  Delaware,  and  between  Camden  and  South  Amboy, 
in  New  Jersey,  afforded  great  and  important  facilities  to  the  trans- 
mission of  the   orreat  eastern  mail."     At  this  time  a  railroad  be- 

o 

tween  Washington  and  New  York  was  in  process  of  construction, 
and  Postmaster-General  Barry  dwelt  in  his  report  on  the  impor- 
tance of  the  facilities  that  would  be  afforded  for  speedy  service  be- 
tween the  two  cities,  predicting  that  the  run  between  them  would 
probably  be  made  in  sixteen  hours.  The  service  is  now  performed 
in  about  five  hours. 

At  first  the  facilities  for  mail  services  were  very  limited.  Post- 
master-General Kendall,  in  1835,  suggested  that  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad  Company  might  be  asked  to  close  in  some  portion 
of  their  baggage-cars,  a  strong  lock  being  placed  on  the  apartment, 
to  which  only  the  postmasters  at  Washington  and  Baltimore  should 
have  keys.  In  the  same  report  he  adds  :  "  If  wheels  can  be  con- 
structed which  can  be  used  alike  upon  the  railroads  and  the  streets 
of  the  cities  respectively,  the  Department  will  furnish  an  entire  car 
containinor  the  mail  to  be  delivered  at  one  depot,  and  received  at 


ii6 


THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 


Mail   Carrying  in  the   Country. 


the  other,  asking  nothing  of  the  company  but  to  haul  it."  It  was 
even  proposed  at  this  time  that  the  Government  should  have  its 
own  locomotives,  everything  else  on  the  road  giving  the  right  of 
way  to  the  mail  train.     This   proposition  was  not  adopted.     The 

fear  was  express- 
-  ed,  however,  that 

if  the  Department 
did  not  have  ab- 
solute control 
over  the  road, 
the  people  would 
have  to  depend 
on  stage  or  other 
horse  transporta- 
tion for  mail  ser- 
vice. All  these 
early  troubles  in 
time  passed  away, 
and,  through  con- 
cessions on  both  sides,  the  railways  soon  became  the  most  impor- 
tant agent  of  the  Post-Office  Department. 

This,  of  course,  was  not  accomplished  without  many  trials  and 
tribulations.  It  seems  strange,  in  the  light  of  the  present,  to  read 
in  an  official  report  a  remonstrance  from  route  agents  that  nearly 
every  night  dead  bodies  were  placed  in  the  mail  crates  between 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and  the  mails  packed  around  the 
coffins.  This  breach  of  good  order  disappeared  after  that  time, 
and  with  it  came  to  an  end  the  freight  methods  and  the  old  stage- 
coach ideas  of  dealing  with  the  mails. 

A  separate  compartment  in  a  baggage-car,  fitted  up  with  few 
conveniences  necessary  for  the  distribution  of  local  way-mail,  was 
the  beginning  of  the  system  which  has  developed  into  the  luxuri- 
ous postal  cars  of  the  present  time.  As  a  matter  of  history,  how- 
ever, it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  system  which  we  then  adopted 
had  been  in  use  for  some  time  by  our  northern  neighbors  of 
Canada,  who  had  taken  it  from  the  mother  country. 

The  credit  of  suggesting  the  first  step  toward  the  present  sys- 
tem has  generally  been  given  to  Colonel  G.  B.  Armstrong,  who  in 


THE    WORK   OF  COLONEL    GEORGE   S.    BANGS.  317 

1864  was  Assistant  Postmaster  at  Chicago.  This  is  incorrect ; 
Mr.  W.  A.  Davis,  a  clerk  of  the  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  Post-Office, 
where  the  overland  mail  was  made  up,  conceived  the  idea,  in  1862, 
that  if  the  letters  and  papers  could  be  assorted  on  the  cars  between 
Ouincy  and  St.  Joseph,  the  overland  mail  could  start  promptly  on 
time.  He  was  given  permission  to  carry  out  this  idea,  and  there 
are  vouchers  on  file  in  the  Department  at  Washington  showing 
that  he  was  paid  for  that  specific  work.  In  1864  Colonel  Arm- 
strong was  authorized  and  encouraged  by  the  Hon.  Montgomery 
Blair,  then  Postmaster-General,  to  undertake  the  difficult  task  of 
arranging  and  introducing  the  service.  On  August  31,  1864,  he 
wrote :  "  To-day  I  commenced  the  new  distribution."  Subse- 
quently, Colonel  Armstrong  became  the  first  General  Railway  Mail 
Superintendent,  and  held  this  office  until  ill-health  compelled  him 
to  resign,  in  1871.  To  Colonel  George  S.  Bangs,  of  Illinois,  and 
his  successors,  Theodore  N.  Vail,  William  B.  Thompson,  and 
John  Jameson,  is  due  the  excellence  of  the  present  system.  Colo- 
nel Bangs  was  a  thoroughly  equipped  post-office  man,  energetic, 
courageous,  and  progressive.  Brimful  of  ideas,  he  was  ever  on 
the  lookout  for  improvement.  Never  satisfied  with  old  ways,  he 
was  constantly  striving  to  simplify  and  better  the  service.  He  for- 
got himself  in  his  work,  and  died  a  martyr  to  his  duty,  leaving  the 
Travelling  Post-Office  of  to-day  a  monument  to  his  memory. 
While  to  Colonel  Armstrong  is  due  the  credit  for  the  skeleton  of 
the  system,  it  was  the  genius  of  Colonel  Bangs  that  clothed  the 
bones  with  flesh,  developed  the  sinew,  put  the  blood  in  circulation, 
and  breathed  into  its  body  the  breath  of  life.  Colonel  Bangs 
found,  in  1871,  that  everything  was  disjointed,  disconnected,  and 
sluggish.  There  was  no  attempt  at  "  certainty,  security,  or  celer- 
ity." It  was  a  "go-as-you-please"  condition  of  affairs.  He  grap- 
pled at  once  with  it  and  brought  order  out  of  chaos.  He  intro- 
duced a  system  of  emulation  among  the  employees,  rewarding 
those  who  displayed  proficiency  by  promotion  over  the  sluggish, 
and  thus,  in  fact,  was  probably  the  father  of  what  is  now  known  as 
Civil  Service  Reform.  In  1874  he  discussed  the  propriety  of  es- 
tablishing a  fast  and  exclusive  mail  train  between  New  York  and 
Chicago,  "  this  train  "  (quoting  his  report  to  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral) "to  be  under  the  control  of  the  Department,  so  far  as  it  is 


3l8  THE  RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 

necessary  tor  the  purposes  designed,  and  to  run  the  distance  in 
about  twenty-four  hours.  It  is  conceded  by  railway  officials  that 
this  can  be  done.  The  importance  of  a  line  like  this  cannot  be 
overestimated.  It  would  reduce  the  actual  time  of  mail  between 
the  east  and  west  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours.  As  it  would 
necessarily  be  established  upon  one  or  more  of  the  trunk  lines, 
having  an  extended  system  of  connections,  its  benefit  would  be 
in  no  case  confined,  but  extended  through  all  parts  of  the  country 
alike." 

This  report  met  with  the  approval  of  Postmaster-General  Jew- 
ell, who  ordered  Bangs  to  negotiate  with  the  New  York  Central 
&  Hudson  River  Railroad  and  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  for  a  fast 
mail  train,  leaving  New  York  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
arriving  at  Chicago  in  about  twenty-four  hours.  It  w^as  the  old 
story  of  making  bricks  without  straw.  The  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment had  no  appropriation  to  pay  for  such  facilities,  hence  it  had 
to  depend  at  first  on  the  public  spirit  of  the  railroad  authorities. 
Commodore  Vanderbilt,  the  president  of  the  companies  whose 
lines  were  to  be  used,  had  had  dealings  \\\\X\  the  Department,  and 
was  perhaps  not  altogether  sanguine  as  to  the  practical  issue  of 
the  experiment,  or  in  respect  to  the  countenance  it  would  receive 
from  Congress  ;  but  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  the  vice-presi- 
dent, lent  a  willing  ear  to  Mr.  Bangs's  proposition,  and  did  his  ut- 
most to  aid  him  in  putting  it  into  effect.  There  being  no  special 
appropriation  available  for  the  purpose  in  hand,  "the  devil  was 
whipped  around  the  stump  "  by  Colonel  Bangs  stipulating  that  if 
Mr.  Vanderbilt  would  have  twenty  cars  built  and  the  service  per- 
formed, all  matter  originating  at  or  coming  into  the  New  York 
Post-Office,  which  could  reach  its  destination  at  the  same  time  by 
this  line,  should  be  sent  by  this  train,  and  that  the  railway  com- 
panies could  have  the  right  to  demand  a  weighing  of  the  mail  mat- 
ter at  will,  all  railroads  being  paid  according  to  weight.  When 
the  details  of  the  plan  were  communicated  to  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt, he  is  reported  to  have  said  to  his  son :  "  If  you  want  to  do  this, 
go  ahead,  but  I  know  the  Post-Office  Department,  and  you  will, 
too,  within  a  year."  Mr.  Vanderbilt  did  "go  ahead."  He  con- 
structed and  equipped  the  finest  mail  train  ever  seen  on  the  planet, 
ran  it  for  ten  months,  never  missed  a  connection  at  Chicago,  and 


THE   FIRST  FAST  MAIL    TRAIN.  319 

was  always  on  time  at  New  York.  He  did  not  have  to  wait  a 
year,  however,  for  a  reahzation  of  the  sagacious  old  commodore's 
prophecy.  Within  three  weeks,  despite  the  indignant  protest  of 
Colonel  Bangs,  the  mails  of  three  States  were  ordered  to  be  taken 
from  this  and  given  to  another  route.  A  grosser  and  more  wanton 
breach  of  plighted  faith  it  would  be  hard  to  find,  and  its  results 
were  far-reachino-  and  disastrous. 

This  train  was  a  marvel  of  completeness  and  efficiency.  It  was 
manned  by  picked  men,  and  the  only  complaint  ever  made  against 
it  was  that  it  ran  so  fast  that  the  clerks  had  not  time  to  sort  the 
mails  for  the  post-offices  between  New  York  and  Poughkeepsie. 
To  obviate  this.  Colonel  Bangs  requested  the  postmaster  at  New 
York  to  have  two  hundred  mail-bags  dyed  red,  which  should  con- 
tain the  mail  for  those  offices  nearest  together,  so  that  the  crew  in 
the  train  could  distribute  them  first.  There  was  no  complaint  after 
that.  But  when  the  dyer's  bill  was  sent  by  the  postmaster  to  the 
Department,  it  was  disallowed  by  a  clerk  of  the  Second  Assistant 
Postmaster-General,  who,  in  a  letter  announcing  the  fact,  said  that 
there  was  no  necessity  for  the  outlay  if  the  postal  clerks  did  their 
duty.  Bangs,  who  had  just  arrived  at  the  post-office  from  a  day 
and  night's  ride  on  his  favorite  train,  was  lying  on  a  sofa  half 
asleep  in  the  postmaster's  private  office,  as  that  official  was  open- 
ing his  mail.  When  he  came  to  that  letter  he  handed  it  to  Bangs. 
He  was  wide-awake  in  an  instant.  "  Mr.  Postmaster,"  said  he, 
"  do  you  know  the  man  who  signed  this  letter  ?  He  is  a  wheezy 
priest,  a  fool,  and  a  Baptist,  at  that.  Give  me  the  letter."  The 
bill  was  allowed  as  soon  as  Bangs  reached  the  Department.  He 
was  wrong,  however,  in  crediting  the  subordinate  to  the  Baptist 
faith.      He  was  an  ornament  of  another  persuasion. 

So  carefully  had  the  project  been  considered  and  adapted  that 
the  service  on  the  Central,  from  the  start,  moved  with  the  preci- 
sion of  clock-work,  and  was  an  immediate  success.  It  is  proper  to 
say  that  word  of  what  was  going  on  between  the  Department  and 
the  Vanderbilt  system  reached  the  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Scott,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  he  at  once  made  up  his 
mind  that  the  corporation  under  his  management  could  not  afford 
to  be  behind  its  great  rival.  One  Saturday  morning  he  tele- 
graphed to  J.  D.  Layng  (now  General  Manager  of  the  West  Shore 


320  THE   RAILWAY  MAIL    SERVICE. 

and  President  of  the  C.  C.  C.  &  I.),  then  General  Manager  of  the 
Pennsylvania  lines  west  of  Pittsburg,  to  know  if  by  the  following 
Monday  week,  the  date  on  which  the  train  was  to  start,  four  postal 
cars  could  be  built  and  the  first  one  be  in  Chicago  ready  to  start 
on  its  eastern  trip.  The  answer  came  back,  "  Yes."  The  order 
was  given  to  the  Allegheny  shops  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  on 
the  following  Saturday  the  first  of  the  cars,  complete  and  equipped 
for  mail  service,  started  for  Chicago,  and  began  its  east-bound  trip 
on  Monday  morning.  The  second  and  third  cars  were  finished  on 
Monday  night,  and  the  fourth — thus  fully  equipping  the  line — on 
Tuesday. 

Thus  had  been  established  two  splendid  fast  trains,  and  the 
outlook  was  bright  for  the  future,  when  Congress,  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  Post-Ofiice  Department,  passed  an  Act  reducing 
the  already  inadequate  compensation  to  the  trunk  lines,  for  the 
carrying  of  the  mails.  This  action  brought  official  notice  from 
Messrs.  Vanderbilt  and  Scott  of  the  discontinuance  of  the  fast  mail 
trains  between  New  York  City  and  Chicago,  and  that  service 
ended. 

Colonel  Bangs  was  greatly  mortified  at  this  result,  but  he  stood 
his  ground  and  remained  at  his  post  until  the  close  of  the  year. 
Then,  worn  out  with  never-ending  toil,  and  disheartened  by  the 
action  of  Congress,  he  tendered  his  resignation  and  insisted  on  its 
acceptance.  Parted  from  the  Post-Office,  President  Grant,  know- 
ing his  worth  and  wishing  to  recognize  his  services,  appointed  him 
Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  at  Chicaofo.  He  lived  to 
perform  the  duties  of  this  ofiice  only  a  few  months,  as  death  over- 
took him  suddenly,  while  on  a  visit  to  Washington  on  official  busi- 
ness, December,  1876.  His  work,  however,  was  not  permitted  to 
drop.  He  had  left  in  the  service  three  assistants,  Theodore  N.  Vail, 
William  B.  Thompson — afterward  Second  Assistant  Postmaster- 
General — and  John  Jameson,  who  were  fully  imbued  with  the  ideas 
of  their  late  chief  and  were  fully  loyal  to  them.  They,  in  the  order 
named,  became  his  successors,  and  never  permitted  opportunities 
to  escape  wherein  there  was  a  possible  benefit  to  the  service  to  be 
secured.  Although  the  fast  mail  service  was  suspended  for  lack  of 
support  from  Congress,  its  usefulness  and  practicability  had  been 
so  thoroughly  demonstrated  that  an  appropriation  of  $150,000  was 


At  a  Way-station — The   Postmaster's  Assistant. 


STATISTICS   OF  A    YEARS    WORK.  323 

made  in  March,  1877,  for  its  resumption  on  the  trunk  lines.  This 
victory  was  not  reached  without  untiring  efforts  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Vail,  and  by  generous  support  in  both  houses  of  Congress ;  in  the 
Senate  by  the  Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin  and  James  G.  Blaine,  of 
Maine,  and  in  the  House  of  Representatives  by  such  broad  and 
liberal  statesmen  as  Mr.  Waddell,  of  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Randall, 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Cox,  of  New  York. 

Since  then,  Messrs.  Thompson  and  Jameson  have  watched  the 
progress  of  the  work  with  jealous  eyes,  and  have  succeeded  in  ex- 
tending it  practically  to  the  whole  country.  The  present  service 
is  due  not  alone  to  the  liberality  of  Congress,  because  the  appro- 
priations have  been  parsimonious,  but  to  the  generosity  of  the  rail- 
ways, which  have  performed  a  valuable  work  for  a  price  which  in 
many  cases  does  not  pay  the  expense  of  the  necessary  additional 
labor  involved. 

The  Railway  Mail  Service  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1888,  gave  employment  to  5,094  clerks.  Matter  was  dis- 
tributed on  126,310  miles  of  railway,  and  on  17,402  miles  additional 
closed  pouches  were  carried.  There  were  also  operated  41  inland 
steam-boat  lines  on  which  postal  clerks  were  employed.  The 
postal  clerks  travelled  (in  crews)  122,031,104  miles  by  railway,  and 
1,767,649  miles  by  steam-boats.  They  distributed  6,528,772,060 
pieces  of  ordinary  mail  matter,  and  handled  16,001,059  registered 
packages  and  cases,  and  1,103,083  through  registered  pouches  and 
inner  reoj-istered  sacks.  The  service  is  in  charge  of  one  General 
Superintendent,  who  has  his  headquarters  at  Washington,  and  it 
is  divided  into  eleven  divisions  with  a  superintendent  in  charge  of 
each. 

The  majority  of  people  who  travel  on  railways  (and  how  many 
Americans  are  there  who  do  not?)  have  paid  passing  attention  to 
the  railway  mail  cars  as  they  have  stood  at  the  station  preparatory 
to  the  starting  of  the  train,  and  have  glanced  through  the  open 
doors  with  more  or  less  curiosity  at  the  scene  of  energy  and  bustle 
witnessed  within.  At  such  a  moment,  no  matter  how  great  the 
curiosity,  it  is  not  feasible  to  investigate  closely,  for  the  workers 
must  not  be  hampered  by  the  prying  public,  however  praiseworthy 
the  motive.  To  supply  this  pardonable  desire  to  know  how  it  is 
done,  I  invite  my  readers  to  accompany  me  in  spirit  on  a  visit  to 


124 


THE  RAIL  WA  Y  MAIL   SER  VICE. 


Loading  for  the   Fast  Mail,  at  the   General    Post-Otfice,  New  York. 


the  Grand  Central  Station,  to  witness  the  preparations  for  the  de- 
parture of  train  No.  ii,  known  in  railway  parlance  as  "the  New 
York  and  Chicago  Fast  Mail,"  which  leaves  New  York  every  night 
at  nine  o'clock. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  everything  has  been  left  until  the 
last  moment,  and  that  the  mail  matter  has  been  tumbled  into  the 
cars  on  the  eve  of  departure,  to  be  handled  as  best  it  may  in  the 
short  run  to  Albany  ;  for  under  such  conditions  the  task  would  be 
an  impossibility  even  to  an  army  of  trained  hands.  Work  has 
been  in  progress   since  four  o'clock   in  the  afternoon,  and  it  has 


THE  NEW  YORK  AND   CHICAGO  FAST  MAIL.  325 

been  steady,  hard  labor  every  minute  of  the  time.  The  five  cars 
have  been  backed  down  to  the  tracks  opposite  Forty-fifth  Street, 
and  have  been  so  placed  that  they  are  convenient  of  access  to  the 
big  lumbering  mail  wagons  which  are  familiar  sights  in  the  streets 
of  the  metropolis.  The  crew  of  nineteen  men,  skilled  in  the  hand- 
ling of  mail  matter,  and  thorough  experts  in  the  geography  of  the 
country,  reported  to  the  chief  clerk  and  took  up  their  stations  in 
the  various  cars  at  the  hour  named.  At  the  same  time  the  wagons 
began  arriving  from  the  General  Post-Office  with  their  tons  of  mat- 
ter which  had  "  originated  "  in  New  York,  and  were  soon  trans- 
ferring their  loads  to  the  cars,  where  agile  hands  were  in  waiting 
to  receive  them.  Since  the  removal  of  the  deadly  stoves  from  the 
railway  trains  the  occupants  of  the  postal  cars  have  suffered  to  no 
small  extent  owing  to  the  lack  of  heat.  These  cars  are  provided 
with  steam-heating  apparatus  which  is  worked  from  the  engine, 
but  they  are  occupied  for  five  hours  before  the  engine  comes  near 
them,  and  in  cold  weather  the  hands  of  the  men  employed  in  dis- 
tributinof  letters  become  numb  with  cold.  This  is  a  matter  which 
should  receive  prompt  attention. 

Before  we  deal  with  the  mail  matter,  let  us  look  at  the  cars  and 
the  men  who  occupy  them.  The  train,  as  it  leaves  New  York,  is 
made  up  of  five  cars  which  are  placed  immediately  behind  the  en- 
gine, and  are  followed  by  express  and  baggage  cars  and  one  pas- 
senger coach.  The  car  next  to  the  engine  is  devoted  entirely  to 
letter  mail,  and  the  four  following  it  to  papers  and  packages.  The 
letter  car  is  fifty  feet  in  length,  while  those  for  the  newspaper  mail 
are  ten  feet  longer.  All  are  uniform  in  width,  nine  feet  eight 
inches,  and  are  six  feet  nine  inches  high  in  the  clear.  When  newly 
built,  before  long  and  hard  service  had  told  on  their  appearance, 
their  outsides  were  white  in  color,  with  cream-tinted  borderings  and 
gilt  ornamentations,  and  were  highly  varnished.  Midway  on  the 
outside,  and  below  the  windows  of  each  car,  is  a  large  oval  gilt- 
finished  frame  within  which  is  painted  the  name  of  the  car,  with 
the  words,  "  United  States  Post  Office  "  above  and  below.  The 
cars  used  by  the  New  York  Central  are  named  for  the  Governors 
of  the  State  and  the  members  of  President  Garfield's  cabinet. 
Along  the  upper  edge  and  centre  are  painted  in  large  gilt  letters 
the  words,  "  The   Fast  Mail   Train,"  while  on   a  line  with  these 


326 


THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 


letters  at  the  other  end,  in  a  square,  are  the  words,  in  Hke  lettering, 
"  New  York  Central  "  and  "  Lake  Shore."  The  frieze  and  mi- 
nute trimmino-s  around  the  windows  are  of  gilt  finish.     The  body  of 


At  the  Last  Moment. 


the  car  also  contains  other  ornamentation,  including  the  coat-of- 
arms  of  the  United  States.  The  running  gear  is  of  the  most  ap- 
proved pattern.  The  platforms  are  enclosed  by  swinging  doors 
which,  when  opened,  afford  a  protected  passage  between  the  cars. 
This  arrangement  no  doubt  suggested  the  modern  improvement 
now  known  as  the  vestibuled  train.  The  letter  car  is. provided  with 
a  "  mail  catcher,"  which  is  placed  at  a  small  door  through  which 
mail  pouches  are  snatched  from  conveniently  placed  posts  at  way- 
side stations  where  stops  are  not  made.  Each  car  is  divided  into 
three  sections,  all  fitted  up  alike  with  conveniences  for  the  service 
to  be  performed.     The  letter  car,  however,  is  somewhat  differently 


WORK  IN  THE  LETTER   CAR. 


329 


Pouching  the  Mail  in  the  Postal  Car. 


arranged  from  the  others,  to  meet  the  requirements  of  that  partic- 
ular branch  of  the  work. 

In  the  first  section  of  the  letter  car  are  received  the  pouches 
from  the  General  Post-Office,  which  when  opened  are  found  to  con- 
tain letters  done  up  in  packages  of  about  a  hundred,  marked  for 
Michigan,  Indiana,  New  York,  Ohio,  Western  Pennsylvania,  Mon- 
tana, Dakota,  and  California.  When  this  mass  of  matter  has  been 
emptied  out  of  the  pouches  and,  in  the  vernacular  of  the  service, 
"  dumped  up  "  preparatory  to  distribution,  the  section  is  clear  for 
the  registered  mail  which  is  worked  in  it.  Before  this  is  accom- 
plished, however,  much  work  is  done  ;  in  fact,  a  sort  of  rough  dis- 
tribution is  made.  All  packages  which  are  directed  to  one  office 
are  distributed  into  pouches,  which  are  afterward  stored  away  until 


330  THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 

the  towns  are  reached.  The  other  packages  are  carried  into  the 
letter  department  for  distribution,  where  a  rack,  similar  to  those 
seen  in  almost  every  post-office,  although  space  is  thoroughly- 
economized,  is  used  for  the  purpose.  To  give  a  slight  idea  of  the 
work  done  in  this  section,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  distribu- 
tion for  New  York  State  alone  requires  325  boxes.  Still  there  is 
plenty  of  space,  otherwise  the  third  section  of  the  car  would  not 
be  used,  as  it  is,  for  the  distribution  of  Montana  and  Dakota  news- 
papers. How  closely  everything  is  packed,  and  all  available  space 
utilized,  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  stated  that  for  this  newspaper 
mail  ninety-five  pouches  are  hung  in  the. section,  and  that  there  is 
still  sufficient  room  for  the  storage  of  pouches  locked  up  and  ready 
for  delivery,  and  also  for  the  sealed  registered  mail.  A  separation 
of  the  California  mail  is  also  made  in  this  car,  so  that  when  it 
reaches  Chicago  the  pouches  into  which  the  matter  is  placed  are 
transferred  without  delay,  thus  saving  twenty-four  hours  on  the 
time  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  not  by  any  means  an  unimportant  accom- 
plishment. 

There  have  been  received  in  this  car  before  it  moves  out  of 
the  Grand  Central  Station  between  1,000  and  1,500  packages  of 
letters  and,  in  addition,  forty  or  fifty  sacks  of  Dakota  and  Montana 
papers.  To  handle  this  mass  of  correspondence  there  are  six  men 
in  addition  to  the  chief  clerk,  or  superintendent.  This  official  is 
not  assigned  to  any  particular  duty,  but  he  supervises  the  general 
work  and  lends  aid  where  it  is  most  required.  The  second  clerk 
handles  letters  for  Ohio,  Dakota,  and  Montana ;  the  third  clerk 
takes  charge  of  those  for  New  York  State  ;  the  fourth,  Illinois  ;  the 
fifth  opens  all  pouches  labelled,  "  New  York  and  Chicago  Rail- 
way Post-Office,"  distributes  their  contents,  and  afterward  works 
on  Dakota  and  Montana  papers  ;  the  sixth,  Michigan  State  let- 
ters, and  the  seventh,  California  letter  mail.  The  salaries  of  these 
men,  intrusted  with  so  much  responsibility  and  of  whom  so  much 
is  expected,  range  from  $900  per  annum  for  the  lowest  grade  to 
$1,300  per  annum  for  the  superintendent. 

The  second,  or  "  Illinois  Car,"  is  devoted,  as  are  the  others 
which  follow  it,  to  the  newspaper  and  periodical  mail.  In  it  are 
handled  papers  for  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  New  York,  Oregon, 
and  Wyoming.     Two  clerks  and  two  assistants  man  this  car.     The 


THE  ILLINOIS   CAR. 


ZZ^ 


Iff  hnf^  .1 


A  Very  Difficult  Address — known  as  a  "  sticker." 


first  assistant,  who  "  faces  up  "  papers  ready  to  be  distributed, 
draws  mails  from  stalls  to  case,  and  removes  boxes  as  fast  as  they 
are  filled,  has  gained  the  sobriquet  of  the  "  Illinois  derrick,"  ow- 
ing to  the  heavy  nature  of  his  duties.  The  second,  who  lends 
what  aid  he  can  in  the  heavy  work  on  the  run  between  New  York 
and  Albany,  has  become  known  on  the  train  as  "  the  short  stop." 
The  third  section  of  the  car  is  used  for  storing  the  bags  of  assort- 
ed matter. 


332 


THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 


The  third  car  is  used  for  storing  through  mail  for  San  Fran- 
cisco, Omaha,  and  points  west  of  Chicago.  In  it  are  also  carried 
stamped  envelopes  from  the  manufacturer  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  to 
postmasters  in  the  West.  This  car  is  frequently  fully  loaded  with 
matter  from  the  New  York  office  when  the  journey  is  begun,  and 
it  is  then  found  necessary  to  add  a  similar  car  to  the  train  on  its 
arrival  at  Albany  for  the  accommodation  of  matter  taken  on  by  the 
way  and  bound  for  the  same  destination. 

The  Michigan  paper  car  is  the  fourth.     In  it  are  handled  papers 


Distributing  the   Mail   by  States  and   Routes. 

for  Michigan,  Iowa,  and  the  mixed  Western  States.  In  the  first 
section  are  piled  the  Iowa  pouches  and  those  for  points  out  of 
Utica,  which  have  been  distributed  in  the  centre  section,  and  in 
the  third  section  the  distribution  for  Michigan,  Nebraska,  and 
Minnesota,  as  well  as  for  points  reached  from  Buffalo,  is  made. 


Sorting  Letters  in   Car  No.   i— The    Fast   Mail. 


DIVISIONS   OF   THE   RUN  TO    CHICAGO. 


JO, 


Two  men  perform  the  work  of  the  car,  one  of  whom  has  already 
handled  the  registered  mail  and  Indiana  letters  in  the  first  car. 

The  fifth,  or  California  paper  car,  is  the  last  mail  coach  on  the 
train,  as  it  is  made  up  when  leaving  the  Grand  Central  Station. 
Besides  the  papers  for  the  Golden  State  the  car  carries  through 
registered  pouches  to  Chi- 
cago and  the  West,  which 
have  been  made  up  in  the 
New  York  office,  and,  as  a 
usual  thing,  a  large  lot  of 
stamped  envelopes  for  post- 
masters in  the  West.  The 
California  letter  man  from  the 
first  car  looks  after  the  papers 
for  the  same  State,  and  has 
an  eye  to  the  safety  of  the 
car.  On  reaching  Albany 
another  car  is  added  to  the 
train,  making  six  in  all  from 
that  point.  This  last  addi- 
tion comes  from  Boston, 
brings  the  morning  mail  from 
Bangor,  Me.,  and  is  manned 
by  four  men. 

The   run   to  Chicago   for 
post-office  purposes  is  divided 

into  three  divisions  :  from  New  York  to  Syracuse,  from  Syracuse  to 
Cleveland,  and  from  Cleveland  to  Chicago.  Each  division  has  its 
own  crew,  so  that  the  men  leaving  New  York  are  relieved  at  Syra- 
cuse by  others,  and  these  in  turn  at  Cleveland.  The  New  York 
crew  go  to  work,  as  has  been  said,  at  4  p.m.,  and  if  the  train  is  on 
time  at  Syracuse,  as  it  usually  is,  they  arrive  there  at  5.35  a.m., 
after  thirteen  and  a  half  hours  of  as  hard  work  as  men  are  called 
upon  to  do.  The  same  evening  at  8.40  they  relieve  the  east- 
bound  crew,  and  are  in  New  York  again  at  six  o'clock  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  Half  an  hour  later  they  are  to  be  found  on  the  top 
floor  of  the  General  Post-Office  building,  comfortably  ensconced 
in  bunks  and  in  a  large  and  airy  room,  provided  as  a  dormitory 


Pouching  Newspapers  for  California — in  Car  No.  5. 


33^  THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 

for  their  use  by  the  postmaster  of  New  York  at  the  time  of 
the  inauguration  of  the  fast  mail  service.  Each  crew  makes 
three  round  trips  and  is  then  laid  off  for  six  days,  but  its  mem- 
bers are  all  this  time  subject  to  extra  duty,  which  they  are  called 
upon  to  perform  with  unpleasant  frequency,  particularly  in  holi- 
day times. 

After  leaving-  New  York,  the  first  stop  the  train  makes  is  at 
Poughkeepsie,  but  no  mail  is  taken  on  there.  At  Albany  the  sec- 
ond halt  is  made,  and  there  twenty  minutes  are  spent  in  taking  on 
the  mail  from  New  England  and  northeastern  New  York.  At 
Palatine  Bridge  there  is  a  brief  stop,  and  after  that  comes  Utica, 
where  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western,  the  Ontario  & 
Western,  and  the  Rome,  Watertown  &  Ogdensburg  roads  ex- 
change mail  matter.  At  Syracuse  more  mails  come,  this  time  from 
the  Oswego,  Binghamton  &  Syracuse,  and  the  Auburn  &  Roches- 
ter branch  of  the  New  York  Central.  Here  also  comes  welcome 
relief  for  the  crew  which  left  New  York.  Those  who  follow  have 
much  to  keep  them  busy,  but  the  heaviest  part  of  the  work  has 
been  already  performed. 

From  Syracuse  to  Cleveland  there  are  several  distributing 
points  where  mail  matter  is  also  received  on  the  train,  and  the 
routine  is  continued  much  as  already  described  until  the  crew  is 
relieved  at  Cleveland.  There  the  men  of  the  Western  Division 
take  charge  and  continue  the  work  until  Elkhart,  Ind.,  is  reached. 
There  a  special  force  from  Chicago  meets  the  train,  takes  posses- 
sion of  a  portion  of  the  letter  car,  and  makes  the  distribution  for 
the  main  office  and  stations  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  thus  saving 
much  time.  When  the  train  arrives  in  Chicago,  it  makes  connec- 
tion with  a  fast  mail  train  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy,  as 
also  on  a  like  train  on  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul.  The 
former  train  arrives  at  Council  Bluffs  about  7  p.m.,  and  there  over- 
takes the  train  which  left  Chicago  on  the  previous  evening.  The 
Pacific  Coast  mail  is  thus  expedited  just  twenty-four  hours.  A 
similar  train  on  the  St.  Paul  road  also  saves  twenty-four  hours'  time 
on  the  trip  to  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  appropriation  for  special  facilities  for  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1889,  was  $295,987.53.  The  uses  to  which  the  appropriation 
referred  to  is  put  are  explained  in  the  following  table. 


A    YEAR'S  APPROPRIATIONS. 


ZZ7 


New  York  to  Springfield. . 

4.35  A.M.  train 

Philadelphia  to  Bay  View. 

Bay  View  to  Quantico. . . . 

Quantico  to  Richmond. .  . . 

Richmond  to  Petersburg.  . 

Petersburg  to  Wcldon  .    .  . 

Weldon  to  Wilmington .  . . 

Wilmington  to  Florence  . . 

Florence  to  Charleston 
Junction 

Charleston  Junction  to  Sa- 
vannah  

Savannah  to  Jacksonville  . 

Baltimore  to  Hagerstown. . 

Jacksonville  to  Tampa. . . . 


Railroad  Company. 


Miles. 


New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford.. 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  . 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington  &  Baltimore 

Baltimore  &;  Potomac 

Richmond,  Fredericksburg  &  Potomac 

Richmond  &  Petersburg 

Petersburg 

Wilmington  &  Weldon 

Wilmington,  Columbia  &  Augusta. . . 

Northeastern 


Charleston  &  Savannah 

Savannah,  Florida  &  Western 

Western  Maryland 

Jacksonville,  Tampa  &  Key  West  & 
South  Florida 


136 

144 
91 .80 
79.80 
81.50 

23-39 
64 

162.07 
no 

95 

108 

171.50 
86.60 

242.57 


Total . 


Pay. 


$17,647  06 
25,000  GO 
20,000  00 
21,900  00 
17,419  26 
4,268  67 
I  1,680  GO 
29,541  27 
20,075  00 

19,710  GO 
31,309  70 
15,804  50 

43,962  42 


$295,655  38 


A  careful  perusal  of  this  table  develops  the  fact  that  the  great- 
er portion  of  this  money  is  expended  south  of  Philadelphia,  the  rail- 
road companies  in  that  section  not  having  sufficient  weight  of  mails 
to  warrant  fast  trains  without  some  additional  compensation.  It 
will  also  be  noted  that  with  the  exception  of  the  sum  of  $25,000 
for  a  special  train  to  Poughkeepsie,  which  leaves  New  York  City 
at  4.35  in  the  morning,  the  New  York  Central  receives  no  compen- 
sation except  that  earned  by  them  as  common  carriers  of  so  many 
pounds  of  freight-mail  matter  carried,  being  paid  for  in  accordance 
with  its  weight.  It  will  also  be  observed  that  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  on  its  trunk  line,  is  not  even  so  fortunate  as  its  great  rival. 

There  may  be  more  dangerous  pursuits  in  life  than  that  of  the 
railway  post-office  clerk,  but  there  are  not  many  so,  and  there  are 
few  in  which  the  risk  to  life  and  limb  is  so  constant.  The  every- 
day citizen  who  is  called  upon  occasionally  to  make  a  railroad 
journey  of  a  few  hundred  miles  feels  it  to  be  incumbent  upon  him- 
self on  such  occasions  to  make  special  provision  for  those  depend- 
ent on  him  in  case  injury  or  death  should  come  while  riding  in 
the  thoroughly  appointed  and  luxurious  coach  placed  in  a  portion 
of  the  train  least  likely  to  suffer  from  accident.'  But  too  little 
thought  is  devoted  to  the  safety  of  those  poorly  paid  but  efficient 
servants  of  the  State,  in  the  forward  cars,  without  whose  services 
the  business  of  the  country,  as  conducted  to-day,  would  come  to  a 


338  THE   RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 

stand-still.  To  show  that  the  importance  of  this  service  is  not  here 
exaggerated,  it  is  only  necessary  to  recall  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  New  York  City,  and  other  cities  as  well,  in  March,  1888,  when 
the  great  blizzard  fell  upon  the  land.  There  were  then  no  mails 
for  several  days,  and  the  prostration  which  came  upon  the  com- 
munity is  too  well  remembered  to  need  comment.  The  danger  to 
those  within  the  postal  cars,  however,  is  recognized  by  the  railway 
people,  and  efforts  have  been  made  in  the  way  of  providing  safety 
appliances,  but  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  lessen  the  danger  to 
any  great  extent.  All  that  American  ingenuity  suggests  in  the 
way  of  construction,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  cars,  is  pro- 
vided. The  body  of  the  car  is  most  substantially  built,  the  plat- 
forms and  couplings  are  of  the  most  approved  patterns,  the  trucks 
are  similar  to  those  used  under  the  best  passenger  coaches,  and 
the  air-brakes  and  other  safety  apparatus  are  all  brought  into  req- 
uisition. Within  the  cars  are  saws,  axes,  hammers,  and  crowbars 
conveniently  placed  in  case  of  wreck,  and  safety-bars  extend  the 
length  of  the  cars  overhead  to  which  the  clerks  may  cling  when  the 
cars  leave  the  track  and  roll  down  embankments,  as  they  often  do. 
In  the  year  ending  June,  1888,  there  were  248  accidents  to  trains 
upon  which  postal  clerks  were  employed.  In  these  wrecks  four 
clerks  were  killed  ;  sixty-three  were  seriously,  several  of  the  number 
permanently,  and  forty-five  slightly  injured.  The  official  report  of 
the  accidents  shows  that  the  majority  of  them  resulted  from  colli- 
sions, while  others  were  due  to  the  spreading  of  the  rails,  the  fail- 
ure of  air-brakes  to  work  at  critical  moments,  and  obstructions  on 
the  track. 

In  every  case  where  cars  were  wrecked  the  postal  car  was 
amonof  the  number. 

In  many  instances  the  cars  were  telescoped,  and  on  such  occa- 
sions the  clerks  were  found  buried  in  the  wreckage  or  pinned 
under  the  engine  or  its  tender.  And  many  times  true  heroism  was 
shown  by  the  injured  men.  Over  and  over  again  the  General 
Superintendent  reports  that,  notwithstanding  severe  injuries  re- 
ceived by  the  clerks,  the  scattered  mail  matter  was  collected  by 
them  and  transferred  either  to  another  train  or  to  the  nearest  post- 
office.  Several  times  trains  in  the  West  were  held  up  by  robbers, 
who,  after  sacking  the  express  car,  visited  the  postal  car,  introduc- 


DANGERS   OF   THE   SERVICE. 


339 


ing-  themselves  with  pistol-shots.  One  clerk  was  seriously  wound- 
ed in  the  shoulder.  An  instance  of  self-possession  is  reported 
in  Arkansas,  where  the  robbers,  before  visiting  the  postal  car,  had 
secured  $io,- 
ooo  from  the 
express  safe. 
When  they 
came  to  clerk 
R.  P.  Johnson 
he  suggested 
that  they  had 
secured  booty 
enough,  and 
that  under  the 
circumstances 
they  might  let 
the  mail  mat- 
ter alone.  The 
masked  men 
agreed  with 
him,  and  did 
not  molest  the 
mails. 

In  view  of 
the  dangers  to 
which  employees  of  the 
Railway  Mail  Service  are 
exposed,  it  may  be  permitted 
to  quote  from  the  last  annual  re- 
port of  General  Superintendent 
Bancroft  on  the  subject  of  insur- 
ance. No  action,  he  points  out, 
has  ever  been  taken  by  Congress 
toward  providing  for  the  care  of  clerks  permanently  injured  in  the 
service,  or  those  dependent  upon  them  in  case  of  death,  notwith- 
standing frequent  recommendations  by  the  Department.  He 
attributes  this  to  insurmountable  objections  on  the  part  of  the 
people's  representatives  to  the  creation  of  anything  of  the  nature 


Catching  the   Pouch  from  the   Crane. 


340  THE  RAILWAY  MAIL   SERVICE. 

of  a  civil  pension-roll.  He  therefore  suggests  that  there  shall  be 
deducted  from  the  pay  of  each  and  every  railway  postal  clerk  ten 
cents  per  month,  to  be  paid  into  "The  Railway  Postal  Clerks'  In- 
surance Fund,"  the  custodian  of  which  is  to  be  the  United  States 
Treasury.  In  case  of  death  from  injuries  while  on  duty,  $i,ooo  is 
to  be  paid  to  the  clerk's  heirs.  While  this  proposition  is  in  the 
right  direction,  it  hardly  goes  far  enough.  Provision  should  be 
made  for  the  disabled,  and  to  do  so,  the  clerks  doubtless  would 
not  object  to  an  assessment  of  double  the  amount  suggested.  That 
they  should  be  compelled  to  resort  to  such  a  mode  of  relief,  how- 
ever, is  a  reflection  upon  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

The  first  great  need  of  the  Railway  Mail  Service  is  an  adequate 
appropriation  by  Congress  to  extend  its  usefulness,  and  to  keep  it 
up  to  the  demands  and  the  needs  of  the  public.  Where  speed  is  re- 
quired to  make  connections,  the  Department  should  have  the  cash 
on  hand  to  buy  what  is  necessary.  The  railways  are  business  in- 
stitutions, managed  as  such,  and  when  the  Department  desires  ex- 
tra facilities  it  should  be  prepared  to  pay  In  coin  and  not  in  talk.  In 
this  connection  it  is  a  pleasant  duty  for  the  writer  of  this  very  imper- 
fect sketch  to  say  that  during  his  term  of  service  in  the  post-office 
at  New  York,  and  at  the  Department,  he  always  found  Mr.  Will- 
iam H.  Vanderbilt,  Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  Mr.  J.  H.  Rutter,  of 
the  New  York  Central;  Mr.  John  Newell,  of  the  Lake  Shore  ;  Mr. 
George  B.  Roberts,  Mr.  A.  J.  Cassatt,  and  Mr.  Frank  Thomson,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  system;  Mr.  R.  R.  Bridgers  and  Mr.  H.  B.  Plant, 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line,  ready  to  grant  any  reasonable  request 
for  the  improvement  and  extension  of  the  service.  Time  after  time 
Mr.  Roberts  has  run  a  special  train  with  the  Australian  transcon- 
tinental mail  from  Pittsburo-  to  New  York,  that  it  mieht  catch  an 
outgoing  steamer ;  and  he  and  Mr,  Vanderbilt  practically  re-estab- 
lished the  fast  mail,  by  taking  letters  on  their  limited  trains.  Mr. 
Roberts  gave,  in  addition,  an  extra  mail  train  from  Philadelphia 
west  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  Mr.  Vanderbilt  placed  a 
postal  car  on  the  4  p.m.  train  from  New  York,  receiving  in  return 
— what  they  had  a  right  to  demand — an  extra  weighing  of  the 
mails,  and,  what  was  not  a  matter  of  surprise  to  them,  unmeasured 
abuse  on  the  floor  of  Conoress  for  ofivinof  these  additional  facilities 
to  the  people  of  the  country. 


THE  NEED    OF  CIVIL   SERVICE  REFORM.  34 1 

The  last  and  greatest  need  of  the  postal  service  is  the  total 
and  complete  elimination  of  partisan  considerations  as  affecting  ap- 
pointments and  removals  in  the  working  force.  The  spoils  method 
invariably  brings  into  the  service  a  lot  of  do-nothings  or  a  race  of 
experimenters,  whose  performances  never  fail  to  breed  disaster 
and  to  crush  out  substantial  progress. 

There  is  no  position  in  the  Government  more  exacting  than  that 
of  a  postal  clerk,  and  none  that  has  so  many  requirements.  He 
must  not  only  be  sound  "  in  wind  and  limb,"  but  possessed  of  more 
than  ordinary  intelligence,  and  a  retentive  memory.  His  work  is 
constant,  and  his  only  recreation,  study.  He  must  not  only  be  pro- 
ficient in  his  own  immediate  work,  but  he  must  have  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  entire  country,  so  that  the  correspondence  he 
handles  shall  reach  its  destination  at  the  earhest  possible  mo- 
ment. He  must  know  no  night  and  no  day.  He  must  be  imper- 
vious to  heat  or  cold.  Rushing  along  at  a  rate  of  forty  or  fifty 
miles  an  hour,  in  charge  of  that  which  is  sacred — the  correspond- 
ence of  the  people — catching  his  meals  as  he  may  ;  at  home  only 
semi-occasionally,  the  wonder  is  that  men  competent  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  so  high  a  calling  can  be  found  for  so  small  a  compen- 
sation, and  for  so  uncertain  a  tenure  of  official  life.  They  have 
not  only  to  take  the  extra-hazardous  risks  of  their  toilsome  duties, 
but  they  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  practical  politicians  who  believe 
that  '-to  the  victor  belong  the  spoils."  There  are  no  public  offices 
which  are  so  emphatically  "  public  trusts  "  as  those  whose  duties 
comprise  that  of  handling  the  correspondence  of  the  people,  be- 
cause upon  the  proper  and  skilful  performance  of  that  duty  depend 
— to  a  far  greater  degree  than  in  the  care  of  any  other  function 
accomplished  through  government  agency — the  business  and  so- 
cial welfare  of  the  entire  community.  The  effects  of  ignorance, 
carelessness,  and  dishonesty  in  any  other  branch  of  the  public 
service,  although  to  be  deplored,  are  not  to  be  compared  to  those 
which  follow  the  existence  of  such  evils  in  the  Post-Office.  Can 
there  be  a  more  flagrant  abuse  of  a  "  public  trust  "  than  the  per- 
version of  a  branch  of  the  public  service  into  an  agency  for  further- 
ing the  ambitious  ends  of  local  politicians  and  their  partisans  by 
allowing  them  to  distribute  its  "  patronage  "  as  rewards  for  party 
services  among  those  who,  by  reason  of  inexperience — if  for  no 


342  THE   RAILWAY  MAIL    SERVICE. 

graver  cause — are  incompetent  to  replace  the  skilled  workman  who 
must  be  routed  out  in  order  to  g-ive  them  room  ?  This  evil  should 
be  corrected  at  once.  The  Railway  Mail  Service  must  no  longer 
be  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  local  partisans.  The  reform  is  not  only 
a  present  necessity,  but  it  was  one  in  the  past  and  will  be  in  the 
future,  until  the  force  of  public  sentiment  shall  compel  acquiescence 
in  the  reasonable  demand  that  what  was  so  eminently  meant  for 
mankind  shall  not  be  given  up  to  party ;  that  the  non-political 
business  of  letter-carrying,  which  the  Government  has  monopo- 
lized, shall  be  conducted  by  it  solely  with  a  view  to  prompt  and 
expeditious  carrying  of  mail  matter,  and  not  with  the  object  of 
bolstering  up  local  "  statesmen"  or  carrying  elections. 

At  the  coming  in  of  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration,  William  B. 
Thompson  was  Second  Assistant  Postmaster-General— in  charge 
of  the  contract  office — and  John  Jameson  was  General  Railway 
Mail  Superintendent.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  had  worked  their 
way  from  the  ranks  by  sheer  merit.  In  private  business  the  value 
of  their  services  would  have  been  so  highly  appreciated  that,  no 
matter  who  became  senior  partner  of  the  firm,  under  no  circum- 
stances would  they  have  been  permitted  to  retire.  The  case  of 
these  gentlemen  is  mentioned  now  simply  to  illustrate  an  idea  and 
not  to  found  a  complaint.  On  the  incoming  of  the  new  admin- 
istration, General  Thompson,  in  accordance  with  precedent, 
promptly  tendered  his  resignation,  and  it  was  as  promptly  ac- 
cepted ;  while  General  Superintendent  Jameson  struggled  along 
doing  his  work  until,  to,  relieve  his  chief  from  embarrassment,  he, 
too,  tendered  his  resignation.  The  country  was  thus  deprived  of 
the  services  of  two  men  who  were  experts  in  their  profession, 
simply  to  give  place  to  others,  of  high  character,  no  doubt,  but 
with  no  knowledge  and  special  aptitude  for  the  great  trust  that 
was  committed  to  them.  And  now,  in  the  first  year  of  another 
administration,  the  experience  that  many  valuable  officials  have 
gained  has  counted  for  nothing,  and  they  have  been  rotated  out. 
In  no  other  civilized  country  would  such  an  atrocity  be  possible. 
An  attempt  to  remove,  for  similar  reasons,  such  postal  authorities 
as  Messrs.  Rich,  of  Liverpool,  Johnston,  of  Manchester,  or  Hub- 
son,  of  Glasgow,  all  of  whom,  under  a  sound,  logical,  just,  and 
economical  business  system,  have  reached  their  present  positions 


THE  FIRST  STEPS   TOWARD  REFORM.  343 

by  merit  and  efficiency  from  more  or  less  inferior  places,  would 
hurl  an  administration  in  Great  Britain  from  power,  and  justly 
too.  The  possession  of  the  immense  patronage  of  the  Government 
did  not  save  the  Republican  party  from  defeat  in  1884,  or  keep 
the  Democratic  party  in  power  in  1888.  Ideas  are  stronger  than 
"  soap,"  and  principles  more  potent  than  spoils.  It  is  due  to 
President  Cleveland  to  state  that  toward  the  close  of  his  adminis- 
tration he  recognized  the  importance  of  permanency  in  the  Rail- 
way Mail  Service,  and  that  he  made  a  long  step  in  advance  by 
approving  a  series  of  rules  submitted  by  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission having  for  its  object  the  removal  of  the  service  from  the 
influences  of  politicians.  It  needs  more  than  this,  however  ;  it 
needs  the  sanctity  of  the  statute  law,  declaring  that  the  clerks 
should  not  only  keep  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  but  that 
after  twenty  years  of  faithful  and  efficient  service,  or  before  that 
time,  if  injured  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  they  should  retire 
on  half-pay.  In  case  of  death  from  accident  while  on  duty,  proper 
provision  should  be  made  for  the  family  of  the  official.  Whenever 
justice  is  done  by  Congress  in  these  particulars,  the  United  States 
will  have  the  best  and  most  efficient  Railway  Mail  Service  in  the 
world. 


THE 

RAILWAY   IN    ITS    BUSINESS    RELATIONS. 

By   ARTHUR   T.    HADLEY. 

Amount  of  Capital  Invested  in  Railways — Important  Place  in  the  Modern  Industrial 
System — The  Duke  of  Bridgevvater's  Foresight — The  Growth  of  Half  a  Century — 
Early  Methods  of  Business  Management — The  Tendency  toward  Consolidation — 
How  the  War  Developed  a  National  Idea — Its  Effect  on  Railroad  Building — Thom- 
son and  Scott  as  Organizers — Vanderbilt's  Capacity  for  Financial  Management — 
Garrett's  Development  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio — The  Concentration  of  Immense 
Power  in  a  Few  Men — Making  Money  out  of  the  Investors — Difficult  Positions  of 
Stockholders  and  Bondholders — How  the  Finances  are  Manipulated  by  the  Board  of 
Directors — Temptations  to  the  Misuse  of  Power — Relations  of  Railroads  to  the  Pub- 
lic who  Use  Them — Inequalities  in  Freight  Rates — Undue  Advantages  for  Large 
Trade  Centres — Proposed  Remedies — Objections  to  Government  Control — Failure 
of  Grangerism — The  Origin  of  Pools — Their  Advantages — Albert  Fink's  Great 
Work — Charles  Francis  Adams  and  the  Massachusetts  Commission — Adoption  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Law — Important  Influence  of  the  Commission — Its  Future 
Functions — Ill-judged  State  Legislation. 


j"^^^_^^i  JiTTF  railroads  of  the  world  are  to-day  worth  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  thousand  milHon  dollars. 
This  probably  represents  one-tenth  of  the  total 
wealth  of  civilized  nations,  and  one-quarter,  if  not 
one-third,  of  their  invested  capital.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  aggregate  plant  used  in  all  manufact- 
uring industries  can  equal  it  in  value.  The  capital  engaged  in 
banking  is  but  a  trifle  beside  it.  The  world's  whole  stock  of 
money  of  every  kind— gold,  silver,  and  paper — would  purchase 
only  a  third  of  its  railroads. 

Yet  these  facts  by  no  means  measure  the  whole  importance  of 
the  railroad  in  the  modern  industrial  system.  The  business  meth- 
ods of  to-day  are  in  one  sense  the  direct  result  of  improved  means 
of  transportation.  The  railroad  enables  the  large  establishment 
to  reach  the  markets  of  the  world  with  its  products  ;  it  enables  the 
large  city  to  receive  its  food-supplies,  if  necessary,  from  a  distance 


BENJAMIN  OUTRAM'S  RAILROAD. 


345 


of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles.  And  while  it  thus  favors  the 
concentration  of  capital,  it  is  in  itself  an  extreme  type  of  this 
concentration.  Almost  every  distinctive  feature  of  modern  busi- 
ness, whether  good  or  bad,  finds  in  railroad  history  at  once  its 
chief  cause  and  its  fullest  development. 

As  befits  a  nineteenth  century  institution,  the  railroad  dates 
from  1801.  In  that  year  Benjamin  Outram  built  in  the  suburbs  of 
London  a  short  line  of  horse 

railroad — or  tramroad,  as  it  was  ,,.;  1^ 

named  in  honor  of  the  inven- 
tor. Other  works  of  the  same 
kind  followed  in  almost  every 
succeeding  year.  They  were 
recognized  as  a  decided  con- 
venience, but  nothing  more.  It 
was  hard  to  imagine  that  a  rev- 
olution in  the  world's  transpor- 
tation methods  could  grow  out 
of  this  beginning.  Least  of  all 
could  such  a  result  be  foreseen 
in  England,  whose  admirable 
canal  system  seemed  likely  to 
defy  competition  for  centuries 
to  come.  And  yet,  curiously 
enough,  it  was  a  man  wholly 
identified  with  canal  business  who  first  foresaw  the  future  im- 
portance of  the  railroad.  The  Duke  of  Bridgewater  had  built 
canals  when  they  were  regarded  as  a  hazardous  speculation  ;  but 
they  proved  a  success,  and  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  he 
was  reaping  a  rich  reward  for  his  foresight.  One  of  his  fellow- 
shareholders  took  occasion  to  congratulate  the  Duke  on  the  fact 
that  their  property  was  now  the  surest  monopoly  in  the  land,  and 

was  startled  by  the  reply,  "  I  see  mischief  in  these tramroads." 

The  prophecy  is  all  the  more  striking  as  coming  from  an  enemy. 
Like  Balaam,  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater  had  a  pecuniary  interest 
in  cursing,  but  was  so  good  a  prophet  that  he  had  to  tell  the  truth 
in  spite  of  himself,  even  though  his  curse  was  thereby  turned  into 
a  blessing. 


George  Stephenson. 


34*5  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  tell  in  detail  how  this  prediction  was 
realized.  Thanks  to  the  skill  and  perseverance  of  George  Ste- 
phenson, the  difficulties  in  the  use  of  steam  as  a  mode  of  propulsion 
were  rapidly  overcome.  What  was  a  doubtful  experiment  as  late 
as  1815  had  become  an  accomplished  fact  in  1830.  The  success- 
ful working  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway  gave  an  im- 
pulse to  similar  enterprises  all  over  the  world.  In  1835  there  were 
1,600  miles  of  railroad  in  operation- — more  than  half  of  it  in  the 
United  States.  In  1845  the  length  of  the  world's  railroads  had  in- 
creased to  more  than  10,000  miles  ;  in  1855  it  was  41,000  miles; 
in  1865,  90,000;   in  1875,  185,000;   in  1885,  over  300,000. 

There  were  perhaps  a  few  men  who  foresaw  this  growth ; 
there  were  almost  none  who  foresaw  the  changes  in  organization 
and  business  methods  with  which  it  was  attended.  People  at  first 
thought  of  the  railroad  as  merely  an  improved  highway,  which 
should  charge  tolls  like  a  turnpike  or  canal,  and  on  which  the  pub- 
lic should  run  cars  of  its  own,  independent  of  the  railroad  company 
itself.  In  many  cases,  especially  in  England,  long  sheets  of  tolls 
were  published,  based  on  the  model  of  canal  charters,  and  naming 
rates  under  which  the  use  of  the  road-bed  should  be  free  to  all. 
This  plan  soon  proved  impracticable.  If  independent  owners  tried 
to  run  trains  over  the  same  line,  it  involved  a  danger  of  collision 
and  a  loss  of  economy.  The  former  evil  could  perhaps  be  avoid- 
ed ;  the  latter  could  not.  The  advantages  of  unity  of  manage- 
ment were  so  ofreat  that  a  road  runninor  its  own  trains  could  do  a 
much  larger  business  at  lower  rates  than  if  ownership  and  carriage 
were  kept  separate.  The  old  plan  was  as  impracticable  as  it 
would  be  for  a  manufacturing  company  to  own  the  buildings  and 
engines,  while  each  workman  owned  the  particular  piece  of  ma- 
chinery which  he  handled.  Almost  all  the  technical  advantages 
of  the  new  methods  would  be  lost  for  lack  of  system.  The  rail- 
road company,  to  serve  the  public  well,  could  not  remain  in  the 
position  of  a  turnpike  or  canal  company,  but  must  itself  do  the 
work  of  carriage. 

This  was  not  all.  The  same  economy  which  resulted  from  the 
union  of  road  and  rolling-stock  under  one  management  was  still 
further  subserved  by  the  consolidation  of  connecting  lines.  This 
change  did  not  come  about  so  suddenly  as  the  other.      Half  a  cen- 


NECESSITY  OF  CONSOLIDATION.  347 

tury  had  elapsed  before  it  was  fully  carried  out.  At  first  there 
was  no  need  of  it.  The  early  railroads  were  chiefly  built  for  local 
traffic,  and  especially  for  the  carriage  of  local  passengers.  They 
were  like  the  horse  railroads  of  the  present  day  in  the  simplicity 
of  their  organization  and  the  shortness  of  their  lines.  Enorland  in 
1847  had  chartered  700  companies,  with  an  average  authorized 
length  of  hardly  fifteen  miles  each.  The  line  from  Albany  to 
Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls  was  in  the  hands  of  a  dozen  inde- 
pendent concerns.  These  were  but  types  of  what  existed  all 
over  the  world.  As  through  traffic,  and  especially  through  freight 
traffic,  grew  in  importance,  this  state  of  things  became  intol- 
erable. Frequent  transshipment  was  at  once  an  expense  to 
the  railroad  and  a  burden  to  the  public.  Even  when  this  could 
be  avoided,  there  was  a  multiplication  of  offices  and  a  loss  of 
responsibility.  The  system  of  ownership  and  management  had  to 
adapt  itself  to  the  technical  necessities  of  the  business.  The 
change  was  not  the  result  of  legislation  ;  nor  was  it,  except  in  a 
limited  sense,  the  work  of  men  like  Vanderbilt  or  Scott.  It  oc- 
curred in  all  parts  of  the  world  at  about  the  same  time.  It  was 
the  result  of  business  necessity,  strong  enough  to  shape  legisla- 
tion, and  to  find  administrative  leaders  who  could  meet  its  de- 
mands. 

From  the  very  first  there  were  some  men  who  felt  the  impor- 
tance of  the  railroads  as  national  lines  of  communication.  The 
idea  was  present  in  the  minds  of  the  projectors  of  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio,  of  the  Erie,  and  of  the  Boston  &  Albany.  But  it  was 
not  until  1850  that  it  became  a  controlling  one  ;  nor  was  it  uni- 
versally accepted  even  then.  As  late  as  1858  we  find  that  there 
was  a  violent  popular  agitation  in  the  State  of  New  York  to  pro- 
hibit the  New  York  Central  from  carrying  freight  in  competition 
with  the  Erie  Canal.  It  was  gravely  urged  that  the  railroad  had 
no  business  to  compete  with  the  canal ;  that  the  latter  had  a  nat- 
ural right  to  the  through  traffic  from  the  West,  with  which  the 
railroads  must  not  interfere.  It  is  less  than  thirty  years  since  a 
convention  at  Syracuse,  representing  no  small  part  of  the  public 
sentiment  of  New  York,  formally  recommended  "  the  passage  of 
a  law  by  the  next  Legislature  which  shall  confine  the  railroads  of 
this  State  to  the  business  for  which  they  were  originally  created." 


348  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

But  matters  had  gone  too  far  for  effective  action  of  this  kind. 
Besides  the  New  York  Central,  the  Erie  and  the  Pennsylvania 
were  in  condition  to  handle  the  through  traffic  which  Western  con- 
nections were  furnishing.  These  connections  themselves  were 
rapidly  growing  in  importance.  Prior  to  1850  there  were  very  few 
railroads  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  In  1857  there  were  thousands 
of  miles.  The  policy  of  land-grants  acted  as  an  artificial  stimulus 
to  the  building  of  such  roads  ;  and  a  land-grant  road,  when  once 
built,  was  almost  necessarily  dependent  on  through  traffic  for  its 
support.  It  could  not  be  operated  locally  ;  it  was  forced  into  close 
traffic  arrangements  which  paved  the  way  for  actual  consolidation. 

The  war  brought  this  development  to  a  stand-still  for  the  time 
being ;  but  it  was  afterward  resumed  with  renewed  vigor.  It  is 
probable  that  the  final  effect  of  the  war  was  to  hasten  rather  than 
to  retard  the  growth  of  large  systems.  In  the  first  place,  it  fa- 
miliarized men's  minds  with  national  ideas  instead  of  those  limited 
to  their  own  State.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  that  our  business 
ideas  were  ever  thus  confined  by  artificial  boundaries  ;  but  if  we 
wish  proof,  we  have  only  to  look  at  the  original  location  of  the  Erie 
Railway  from  Piermont  to  Dunkirk.  Both  were  unnatural  and'  un- 
desirable terminal  points  ;  but  people  were  willing  to  submit  to  in- 
convenience and  to  actual  loss  in  order  that  the  railroad  might  run 
as  far  as  the  New  York  State  limits  would  allow,  and  not  one  whit 
farther.  Similar  instances  can  be  found  in  other  States.  Hard  as 
it  is  to  understand,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  positive  jealousy  of 
interstate  traffic.  The  war  did  much  to  remove  this  by  making 
the  different  sections  of  the  country  feel  their  common  interest  and 
their  mutual  dependence.  It  also  had  more  direct  effects.  It  pro- 
duced special  legislation  for  the  Pacific  railroads  as  a  measure  of 
military  necessity  ;  and  this  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  renewal  of 
the  land-grant  policy,  no  longer  through  the  medium  of  the  States, 
but  in  the  Territories  and  by  the  direct  action  of  Congress.  All 
the  results  in  the  way  of  extension  or  consolidation  which  had  been 
noted  in  the  first  land-grant  period  were  more  intensely  felt  in  the 
second.  Never  was  there  a  time  when  business  foresight  and 
administrative  power  were  more  needed  or  more  richly  rewarded 
than  in  railroad  management  during  the  third  quarter  of  the 
century. 


EARLY  CAREER    OF   THOMAS  A.    SCOTT. 


349 


J.    tdgar   Thomson. 


In  1847  J.  Edgar  Thomson,  an  engineer  of  experience,  entered 
the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  of  which  he  afterward  be- 
came president.  Three  years  later,  a  young  man  without  experi- 
ence in  railroad  business  applied  to  him  for  a  position  as  clerk  in 
the  station  at  Duncansville.  and  was,  with  some  hesitation,  accepted. 
Not  long  after — so  runs  the  story — an  influential  shipper  entered 
the  station,  and  demanded  that  some  transfers  should  be  made  in 
a  manner  contrary  to  the  rules  of  the  company,  71iis  the  clerk 
refused  to  do  ;  and  when  the  influential  shipper  tried  to  attend  to 
the  matter  himself,  he  was  forcibly  ejected  from  the  premises.  In- 
dignant at  this,  he  complained  to  the  authorities,  demanding  that 
the  obnoxious  employee  be  removed  from  his  position.  He  was 
— and  was  promoted  to  a  much  higher  one.     This  is  said  to  have 


350 


THE  RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 


been  the  beg-innine  of  the  railroad  career  of  Thomas  Alexander 
Scott.  Edgar  Thomson  was  a  sufficiently  able  man  to  appreciate 
Scott's  talent  at  its  full  worth,  and  took  every  opportunity  to  make 


it  useful  in  the  service  of  the  company.  Both  before  and  after  the 
war  the  system  was  extended  in  every  direction  ;  and  the  man  who 
in  1850  had  need  of  all  his  nerve  to  defy  a  single  influential  shipper 
was  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  at  the  head  of  7,000  miles  of  the 
most  valuable  railroad  in  the  country. 

As  an  enterprising  and  active  railroad  organizer,  Scott  was 
probably  unrivalled — especially  when  aided  by  the  soberer  judg- 
ment of  Thomson  ;  nor  has  the  operating  department  of  any  other 
railroad  in  the  country  reached  the  standard  established  on  the 
Pennsylvania  by  Scott  and  Thomson  and  the  men  trained  up 
under  their  eyes.  But  in  business  sagacity  and  those  qualities 
which  pertain  to  the  financial  management  of  property,  Scott  was 
surpassed   by  Vanderbilt.     The    work    of  the    two    men    was    so 


THE   RISE    OF   GREAT  SYSTEMS.  35 1 

totally  different  in  character  that  it  is  hard  to  compare  them. 
Vanderbilt  was  not  so  distinctively  a  railroad  man  as  Scott.  He 
had  already  made  his  mark  as  a  ship-owner  before  he  went  into 
railroads.  But  he  was  a  man  who  was  bound  to  take  the  lead  in 
the  business  world  ;  and  he  saw  that  the  day  for  doing  it  with 
steamships  was  passing  away,  and  that  the  day  of  railroads  was 
come.  He  therefore  presented  his  best  steamship  to  the  United 
States  Government  in  a  time  when  it  was  sorely  needed,  disposed 
of  the  others  in  whatever  way  he  could,  and  turned  his  undivided 
attention  to  railroads. 

In  1863  Vanderbilt  began  purchasing  Harlem  stock  on  a  large 
scale.  The  road  was  unprofitable,  but  he  at  once  improved  its 
management  and  made  it  pay.  Speculators  on  the  other  side  of 
the  market  had  not  foreseen  the  possibility  of  this  course  of  action, 
and  were  badly  deceived  in  their  calculations.  Vanderbilt  had  be- 
gun buying  at  as  low  a  figure  as  3  ;  within  little  more  than  a  year 
he  had  forced  some  of  its  opponents  to  buy  it  of  him  at  285.  He 
soon  extended  his  operations  to  Hudson  River,  and  somewhat  later 
to  New  York  Central.  Defeated  in  an  attempt  to  gain  control  of 
Erie,  he  turned  his  attention  farther  west ;  and  was  soon  in  virtual 
possession  of  a  system  which,  in  his  hands  at  any  rate,  was  fully  a 
match  for  all  competitors. 

These  systems  did  not  long  remain  without  rivals.  The  Balti- 
more &  Ohio,  whose  development  had  been  interrupted  by  the 
war,  soon  resumed,  under  the  leadership  of  John  W.  Garrett,  its 
old  commanding  position  in  the  railroad  world.  Farther  west,  in 
the  years  succeeding,  systems  were  developed  and  consolidated 
which  surpassed  their  eastern  connections  in  aggregate  mileage. 
The  combined  Wabash  and  Missouri  Pacific  system  in  its  best  days 
included  about  10,000  miles  of  line  under  what  was  virtually  a  single 
management.  The  Southern  Pacific,  the  Atchison,  the  Northwest- 
ern, and  the  St.  Paul  systems  control  each  of  them  in  one  way  or 
another  decidedly  over  5,000  miles  ;  and  a  half-dozen  others  might 
be  named,  scarcely  inferior  either  in  magnitude  or  in  commercial 
power. 

The  result  of  all  this  was  to  place  an  enormous  and  almost 
irresponsible  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men.  The  directors 
of  such  a  system  stand  for  thousands  of  investors,  tens  of  thou- 


352 


THE  RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 


Cornelius  Vandetbilt. 


sands  of  employees,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  shippers.  They 
have  the  interests  of  all  these  parties  in  their  hands  for  good  or  ill. 
If  they  are  fit  men  for  their  places,  they  will  work  for  the  advantage 
of  all.  A  man  like  Vanderbilt  gave  higher  profits,  larger  employ- 
ment, and  lower  rate  as  the  result  of  his  railroad  work.  But  if  the 
head  of  such  a  system  is  unfit  for  his  trust  intellectually  or  morally, 
the  harm  which  he  can  do  is  almost  boundless. 

Of  intellectual  unfitness  the  chance  Is  perhaps  not  great.  The 
intense  competition  of  the  modern  business  world  makes  sure  that 
any  man,  to  maintain  his  position,  must  have  at  least  some  of  the 
qualities  of  mind  which  it  exacts.  But  of  moral  unfitness  the  dan- 
ger is  all  the  greater,  because  some  of  the  present  conditions  of 
business  competition  directly  tend  to  foster  it.  A  German  econo- 
mist has  said  that  the  so-called  survival  of  the  fittest  in  modern  in- 
dustry is  really  a  double  survival,  side  by  side,  of  the  most  talented 


SUCCESS   OF    UNSCRUPULOUS  MANAGERS.  353 

on  the  one  hand  and  the  most  unscrupulous  on  the  other.  The 
truth  of  this  is  already  apparent  in  railroad  business.  A  Vander- 
bilt  on  the  Central  meets  a  Fisk  on  the  Erie.  In  spite  of  his  su- 
perior power  and  resources  he  is  virtually  beaten  in  the  contest — 
beaten,  as  was  said  at  the  time,  because  he  could  not  afford  to  go 
so  close  to  the  door  of  State's  prison  as  his  rival. 

The  manager  of  a  large  railroad  system  has  under  his  control  a 
great  deal  of  property  besides  his  own — the  property  of  railroad 
investors  which  has  been  placed  in  his  charge.  Two  lines  of  action 
are  open  to  him.  He  may  make  money  fo7'  the  investors,  and 
thereby  secure  the  respect  of  the  community  ;  or  he  may  make 
money  otit  of  the  investors,  and  thereby  get  rich  enough  to  defy 
public  opinion.  The  former  course  has  the  advantage  of  honesty, 
the  latter  of  rapidity.  It  is  a  disgrace  to  the  community  that  the 
latter  way  is  made  so  easy,  and  so  readily  condoned.  A  man  has 
only  to  give  to  charitable  objects  a  little  of  the  money  obtained  by 
violations  of  trust,  and  a  large  part  of  the  world  will  extol  him  as  a 
public  benefactor.  Nay,  more  ;  it  seems  as  if  some  of  our  financial 
operators  really  mistook  the  vox  populi  for  the  vox  Dei,  and  be- 
lieved that  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  given  to  a  theological  semi- 
nary meant  absolution  for  the  past  and  plenary  indulgence  for  the 
future.  It  is  charged  that  one  financier,  when  he  undertook  any 
large  transaction  which  was  more  than  usually  questionable,  made 
a  covenant  that  if  the  Lord  prospered  him  in  his  undertaking  he 
would  divide  the  proceeds  on  favorable  terms.  But — as  Wamba 
said  of  the  outlaws  and  "  the  fashion  of  their  trade  with  Heaven  " 
— "  when  they  have  struck  an  even  balance.  Heaven  help  them 
with  whom  they  next  open  the  account  !  " 

A  word  or  two  as  to  the  methods  by  which  such  operations  are 
carried  on,  and  the  system  which  makes  them  possible.  From  the 
very  first,  railroads  have  been  built  and  operated  by  corporations. 
A  number  of  investors,  too  large  to  attend  personally  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  enterprise,  took  shares  of  stock  and  elected  officers 
to  represent  them.  These  officers  had  almost  absolute  power ; 
but  while  matters  were  in  this  simple  stage,  there  was  no  great 
opportunity  for  its  abuse.  The  losses  of  investors  were  due  to 
bona  fide  errors  of  judgment  rather  than  to  misuse  of  power.  But 
soon  the  corporations  found  it  convenient  to  borrow  money  by 
23 


354  THE  RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

mortg-aging  their  property.  We  then  had  two  classes  of  investors 
— stockholders  and  bondholders,  the  former  taking  the  risks  and 
having  the  full  control  of  the  property,  the  latter  receiving  a  rela- 
tively sure  though  perhaps  smaller  return,  but  having  no  control 
over  the  management  as  long  as  their  interest  was  regularly  paid. 

Of  course  there  is  always  some  danger  when  the  men  who 
furnish  the  money  do  not  have  much  control  of  the  enterprise  ; 
but  as  long  as  the  relations  of  stock  and  bonds  were  in  practice 
what  they  pretended  to  be  in  theory,  the  resulting  evils  were  not 
very  great.  Matters  soon  reached  another  stage.  The  amount 
of  money  furnished  by  the  bondholders  increased  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  that  furnished  by  the  stockholders.  Sometimes  the 
nominal  amount  of  stock  was  unduly  small  ;  more  commonly  only 
a  very  small  part  of  the  nominal  value  was  ever  paid  in.*  The 
stock  was  nearly  all  water,  simply  issued  by  the  directors  as  a 
means  of  keeping  control  of  the  property.  After  the  crisis  of 
1857,  people  had  become  shy  of  buying  railroad  stock  ;  but  they 
bought  railroad  bonds  because  they  thought  they  were  safe.  This 
was  the  case  only  when  there  was  an  actual  investment  of  stock- 
holders behind  them ;  without  this  assurance,  bonds  were  more 
unsafe  than  stock  had  been,  because  the  bondholders  had  still  less 
immediate  control  over  the  directors  and  officials.  If  there  was 
money  to  be  made  at  the  time,  the  directors  made  it ;  if  there  was 
loss  in  the  end,  it  fell  upon  the  bondholders. 

Let  us  take  a  specific  case.  An  inside  ring  issues  stock  cer- 
tificates to  the  value  of  a  million  dollars,  on  which  perhaps  a  hun- 
dred thousand  is  paid  in.  They  then  publish  their  prospectus  and 
place  on  the  market  two  million  of  bonds  with  which  the  road  is 
to  be  built.      They  sell  the  bonds  at  80,  reimburse  themselves  for 


'  In  1886  the  capital  stock  and  the  indebtedness  of  the  railroads  of  the  United  States  amounted  to 
about  four  thousand  million  dollars  each.  Most  of  the  debt  represents  money  actually  paid  in  ;  but  a 
very  large  fraction  of  the  stock  is  a  merely  nominal  liability  on  which  no  payments  have  been  made. 
Some  was  issued  as  here  described  merely  as  a  means  of  keeping  control  of  the  property  ;  some,  as 
the  easiest  method  of  balancing  unequal  values  in  reorganization  ;  some,  to  represent  increased  value 
of  the  property,  so  as  to  be  able  to  divide  all  the  current  earnings  without  calling  public  attention  too 
prominently  to  the  very  profitable  character  of  the  business.  On  the  other  hand,  some  stock  on  which 
money  was  actually  paid  has  been  wiped  out  of  existence  ;  and  something  has  been  paid  out  of  earn- 
ings for  capital  account  without  corresponding  issue  of  securities.  The  net  amount  of  "  water,"  or 
excess  of  nominal  liabilities  over  actual  investments,  in  the  capital  account  of  the  railroads  of  the  coun- 
try can  only  be  made  the  subject  of  guesswork.  Estimates  of  responsible  authorities  vary  all  the  way 
from  nothing  to  $4,000,000,000. 


THE    TROUBLES    OF  BONDHOLDERS. 


355 


John  W.   Garrett. 


the  $100,000  advanced  by  charging  the  moderate  commission  of  5 
per  cent,  for  services  in  placing  the  loan,  and  have  at  their  dis- 
posal $1,500,000  cash.  These  same  directors  now  appear  as  a 
construction  company,  and  award  themselves  a  contract  to  pay 
$1,500,000  for  work  which  is  worth  $1,200,000  only.  The  road  is 
finished,  and  probably  does  not  pay  interest  on  its  bonds.  It 
passes  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  Possibly  the  old  management 
may  have  an  influence  in  his  appointment.  At  the  worst,  they 
have  got  back  all  the  money  they  put  in,  plus  the  profits  of  the 
construction  company  ;  in  the  case  supposed,  300  per  cent.  The 
bondholders,  on  the  other  hand,  have  paid  $r, 600,000  for  a  $1,- 
200,000  road. 

But  the  troubles  of  the  bondholders  and  the  advantages  of  the 
old  directors  by  no  means  end  here.  When  the  receiver  takes 
possession  he  discovers  that  valuable  terminals,  necessary  for  the 
successful  working  of  the  road,  are  not  the  property  of  the  com- 
pany, but  of  the  old   directors.     He  finds   that  the   road   owns  a 


356  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

very  inadequate  supply  of  rolling--stock,  and  that  the  deficiency 
has  been  made  up  by  a  car-trust — also  under  the  control  of  the 
old  directors.  Each  of  these  things,  and  perhaps  others,  must  be 
made  the  subject  of  a  fight  or  of  a  compromise.  The  latter  is 
often  the  only  practicable  alternative,  and  almost  always  the 
cheaper  one  ;  by  its  terms  the  ring  perhaps  secures  hundreds  of 
thousands  more,  at  the  expense  of  the  actual  investors. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  ways  in  which  a  few  years' 
control  of  property  may  be  made  profitable  to  the  officials  at  the 
expense  of  legitimate  interests.  In  a  case  like  this,  all  depends 
upon  the  possibility  of  selling  bonds.  It  is  usually  impossible  to 
place  the  whole  loan  before  construction  ;  and  if  the  market-price 
falls  below  the  cost  of  the  work  undertaken,  as  was  the  case  with 
the  West  Shore,  the  loss  falls  upon  the  construction  company. 
Such  accidents  were  for  a  long  time  rare.  It  took  the  public 
nearly  twenty  years  to  learn  the  true  character  of  imperfectly  se- 
cured railroad  bonds.  Within  the  past  five  years  it  seems  to  have 
become  a  trifle  wiser.  The  crisis  of  1873  was  insufficient  to  teach 
the  lesson  ;  but  that  of  1885  has  been  at  least  partially  successful 
in  this  respect. 

In  cases  like  the  one  just  described  the  bondholders  are  largely 
to  blame  for  their  own  folly.  But  sometimes  the  loss  falls  on 
those  who  are  in  no  way  responsible  for  it.  A  railroad  may  be 
built  as  a  blackmailing  job.  If  a  company  is  sound  and  prosper- 
ous, speculators  may  be  tempted  to  build  a  parallel  road,  not  with 
the  idea  of  making  it  pay,  but  because  they  can  so  damage  the 
business  of  the  old  road  as  to  force  it  to  buy  them  out.  They 
build  the  road  to  sell. 

It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  operations  as  bad  as  those  just  described 
are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  But  the  fact  that  they  can 
exist  at  all  is  by  no  means  creditable  to  our  financial  methods. 
The  whole  system  by  which  directors  can  use  their  positions  of 
trust  to  make  contracts  in  which  they  are  personally  interested 
puts  a  premium  on  dishonesty.  Such  contracts  are  forbidden  in 
England.  It  may  be  true,  as  is  urged  by  many  railroad  officials 
of  undoubted  honesty,  that  it  would  be  inconvenient  to  apply  the 
same  law  here  ;  but  on  the  whole,  the  gain  would  far  outweigh 
the  loss. 


TEMPTATIONS    OF  A    RAILROAD   PRESIDENT  357 

At  the  very  best,  a  railroad  president  is  subject  to  temptations 
to  misuse  his  financial  powers,  all  the  more  dangerous  because  it 
is  impossible  to  draw  the  line  between  right  and  wrong.  He 
knows  the  probable  value  of  his  railroad  and  of  the  property  af- 
fected by  its  action  a  great  deal  better  than  any  outsider  possibly 
can.  The  published  figures  of  earnings  of  the  road  are  the  result 
of  estimates  by  himself  and  his  subordinates.  Out  of  the  current 
earnings  he  pays  current  expenses,  and  probably  charges  perma- 
nent expenditures  to  capital  account.  But  what  expenditures  are 
current  and  what  are  permanent  ?  This  division  is  itself  the  re- 
sult of  an  estimate,  and  a  very  doubtful  one  at  that.  There  are 
some  well-established  general  principles,  but  none  which  will  ap- 
ply themselves  automatically.  With  the  best  will  in  the  world  he 
cannot  make  his  annual  reports  give  a  thoroughly  clear  idea  of 
what  has  been  done.  Is  he  to  be  forbidden  to  buy  stock  when  it 
seems  too  low,  or  sell  it  when  it  is  high  ?  Shall  we  refuse  him  the 
right  to  invest  in  other  property  which  he  sees  will  advance  in 
value  ?  Apparently  not ;  and  yet,  if  we  allow  this,  we  open  the 
door  for  some  of  the  worst  abuses  of  power  which  have  occurred 
in  railroad  history.  The  line  between  good  faith  and  bad  faith  in 
these  matters  is  a  narrow  one,  and  the  average  conscience  cannot 
be  trusted  to  locate  it  with  accuracy. 

But  the  relations  to  the  investors  cover  but  a  small  part  either 
of  the  work  or  of  the  responsibility  of  the  railroad  authorities. 
They  are  managing  not  merely  a  piece  of  property,  but  a  vast  and 
complicated  organization  of  men,  and  an  instrument  of  public  ser- 
vice. In  all  these  capacities  their  cares  are  equally  great.  The 
operating  and  the  traffic  departments  are  not  less  important  than 
the  financial  department.  The  relations  of  the  railroad  to  its  em- 
ployees, and  to  the  business  community  at  large,  are  even  more 
perplexing  than  its  relations  to  the  investors. 

Of  the  questions  arising  between  the  railroad  and  its  employ- 
ees we  are  just  beginning  to  realize  the  full  importance.  They  are 
not  matters  to  be  settled  by  private  agreement  or  private  war.  If 
they  involve  a  serious  interruption  of  the  business  of  the  commu- 
nity they  concern  public  interests  most  vitally.  The  community 
cannot  afford  to  have  its  business  interrupted  by  railroad  strikes. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  allow  the  men  to  make  this  public 


358  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

duty  of  the  railroads  a  means  of  enforcing  their  own  will  on  every 
occasion,  to  the  detriment  of  all  discipline  and  responsibility,  or  in 
disregard  of  investors'  rights.  How  to  compromise  between  these 
two  conflicting  requirements  is  one  of  the  most  serious  problems 
of  the  immediate  future.*  Little  progress  in  this  direction  has  as 
yet  been  made,  or  even  systematically  attempted. 

The  questions  arising  from  the  relations  of  the  railroads  to 
those  who  use  them  are  wider  and  older.  From  the  very  outset 
attempts  were  made  to  regulate  railroad  charges  by  law  in  various 
ways.  The  fear  at  that  time  was  that  they  might  be  made  un- 
reasonably high.  This  fear  proved  groundless.  From  the  outset 
the  rates  were  rather  lower  than  had  been  expected,  and  much 
lower  than  by  many  of  the  means  of  transportation  which  railroads 
superseded.  These  low  rates  caused  a  great  development  in 
business ;  and  this,  in  turn,  gave  a  chance  for  such  economy  in 
handlinof  it  that  rates  went  still  lower.  Each  new  invention  ren- 
dared  it  easier  to  do  a  large  business  at  cheap  rates.  The  substi- 
tution of  steel  rails  for  iron,  which  began  shortly  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  had  an  enormous  influence  in  this  respect.  This  was  not 
merely  due  to  the  direct  saving  in  repairs,  which,  though  appreci- 
able, was  moderate  in  amount.  It  was  due  still  more  to  improve- 
ments in  transportation  which  followed.  It  was  found  that  steel 
rails  would  bear  heavier  rolling-stock.  Instead  of  building  ten- 
ton  cars  to  carry  ten  tons  of  cargo,  companies  built  twelve-ton  cars 
to  carry  twenty  tons  of  cargo,  or  fourteen-ton  cars  to  carry  thirty 
tons  ;  and  they  made  the  locomotives  heavy  enough  to  handle 
correspondingly  larger  trains.  A  given  amount  of  fuel  was  made 
to  haul  more  weight ;  and  of  the  weight  thus  hauled,  the  freight 
formed  a  constantly  increasing  proportion  as  compared  with  the 
rolling-stock  itself.  The  system  of  rates  was  adopted  to  meet  the 
new  requirements.  Charges  were  made  incredibly  low  in  order 
to  fill  cars  that  would  otherwise  go  empty,  or  to  use  the  road  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  its  full  capacity.  In  the  twenty  years  follow- 
inof  the  introduction  of  steel  rails  the  traffic  of  the  New  York 
Central  increased  from  less  than  400,000,000  ton-miles  to  decided- 
ly over  2,000,000,000 ;  while  the  average  rates  fell  from  3.09  cents 
per  ton  per  mile  in  1866  to  0.76  cent  in  1886.     This  is  but  a  sin- 

*  See  following  article  on  "  The  Prevention  of  Railway  Strikes." 


DANGEROUS  INEQUALITIES  IN  RATES.  359 

gle  instance  of  a  process  which  has  gone  on  ail  over  the  country. 
The  average  freight  charge  on  all  railroads  of  the  country  to-day 
is  a  little  over  one  cent  per  ton  a  mile  :  less  than  half  what  would 
have  been  deemed  possible  on  any  railroad  a  few  years  ago. 

The  progress  of  railroad  consolidation  contributed  greatly 
to  this  economy.  It  saved  multiplication  of  offices  ;  it  saved  re- 
handling  of  freight  ;  it  enabled  long-distance  business  to  be  done 
systematically.  So  great  were  its  advantages  that  co-operation 
between  connecting  lines  was  carried  far  beyond  the  limits  of  act- 
ual consolidation.  Through  traffic  was  handled  without  transship- 
ment, sometimes  by  regularly  incorporated  express  companies  or 
freight  companies  on  the  same  plan,  but  more  commonly  by  what 
are  known  as  fast-freight  lines.*  These  are  little  more  than  com- 
binations for  keeping  account  of  through  business  ;  they  are  by  no 
means  ideal  in  their  working,  but  they  have  the  advantage  of  few 
expenses  and  no  income,  so  that  the  temptation  to  steal,  which 
is  the  bane  of  such  organizations,  is  here  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

But  all  these  things,  while  they  increased  the  efficiency  of  the 
service,  also  increased  the  power  of  the  railroad  authorities  and 
rendered  the  shipper  more  helpless.  The  very  cheapness  of  rates 
only  made  a  recourse  to  other  means  of  transportation  more  diffi- 
cult. Xi  A  was  charged  30  cents  while  his  competitor  B  was  pay- 
ing only  20  cents  for  the  same  service,  he  was  worse  off  than 
when  they  were  both  paying  a  dollar ;  and  the  fact  that  no  other 
means  of  conveyance  could  be  found  to  do  the  work  for  less  than 
a  dollar  simply  put  A  all  the  more  completely  at  the  mercy  of 
the  railroad  freight-agent.  In  other  words,  the  fact  that  rates 
were  so  low  made  any  inequality  in  rates  all  the  more  dangerous. 
The  lower  the  rate  and  the  wider  the  monopoly,  the  less  was  the 
chance  of  relief 

Such  inequalities  existed  on  a  large  scale  :  and  they  were  all 
the  more  difficult  to  deal  with  because  there  was  a  certain  reason 
for  some  of  them  arising  from  the  nature  of  railroad  business. 
The  expenses  of  a  railroad  are  of  two  kinds.  Some,  like  train  and 
station  service,  locomotive  fuel,  or  repairs  of  rolling-stock,  are 
pretty  directly  chargeable  to  the  different  parts  of  the  traffic.  It 
costs  a  certain  amount  in  wages  and  in  materials  to  run  a  particu- 

*  See  "  The  Freight-car  Service,"  page  287. 


o 


60  TJI£   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 


lar  train  ;  if  that  train  is  taken  off,  that  part  of  the  expense  is 
saved.  But  there  is  another  class  of  items,  known  as  fixed 
charges,  that  do  not  vary  with  the  amount  of  business  done.  In- 
terest on  bonds  must  be  paid,  whether  the  volume  of  traffic  be 
large  or  small.  The  services  of  track-watchmen  must  be  paid  for, 
whether  there  be  a  hundred  trains  daily  or  only  a  dozen.  In 
short,  most  of  the  expenses  for  interest  and  maintenance  of  way 
are  chargeable  to  the  business  as  a  whole,  but  not  to  particular 
pieces  of  work  done.  The  practical  inference  from  this  is  obvious. 
In  order  that  the  railroad  as  a  whole  may  be  profitable,  the  fixed 
charges  must  be  paid  somehow.  The  railroad  manager  will  try 
to  get  them  as  he  can  from  different  parts  of  his  traffic.  But  if, 
for  any  reason,  a  particular  piece  of  business  cannot  or  will  not 
pay  its  share  of  the  fixed  charges,  it  is  better  to  secure  it  at  any 
price  above  the  bare  expense  of  loading  and  hauling,  without 
regard  to  the  fixed  charges.  For  if  the  business  is  lost,  these 
charges  will  run  on  just  the  same,  without  any  added  means  of 
meeting  them. 

The  consequence  is  that  there  is  no  natural  standard  of  rates  ; 
or,  rather,  that  there  are  two  standards,  so  far  apart  that  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  is  quite  sufficient  to  build  up  one  establish- 
ment or  one  locality  and  ruin  another,  in  case  of  an  arbitrary  exer- 
cise of  power  on  the  part  of  the  freight-agent.  In  the  use  of  such 
a  power  it  was  inevitable  that  there  should  be  a  great  many  mis- 
takes, and  some  things  which  were  worse  than  mistakes.  Colbert 
once  cynically  defined  taxation  as  "the  art  of  so  plucking  the 
goose  as  to  secure  the  largest  amount  of  feathers  with  the  least 
amount  of  squealing."  Some  of  our  freight-agents  have  taken 
Colbert's  tax  theories  as  a  standard,  and  have  applied  them  only 
too  literally.  It  is  this  short-sighted  policy  which  has  made  the 
system  of  charging  "  what  the  traffic  will  bear  "  a  synonyme  for  ex- 
tortion. Interpreted  rightly,  this  phrase  represents  a  sound  prin- 
ciple of  railroad  policy — putting  the  burden  of  the  fixed  charges  on 
the  shipments  that  can  afford  to  pay  them.  But  practically — in 
the  popular  mind  at  least — it  has  come  to  mean  almost  exactly  the 
opposite. 

The  points  which  got  the  benefit  of  the  lowest  rates  were  the 
large  trade  centres,  which  had  the  benefit  of  competing  lines  of 


EVILS   OF  SPECIAL   RATES.  36 1 

railroad,  and  often  of  water  competition  also.  The  threat  to  ship 
goods  by  a  rival  route  was  the  surest  way  of  making  a  freight- 
agent  give  low  rates.  The  result  was  that  the  growth  of  such 
places  was  specially  stimulated.  In  addition  to  their  natural  ad- 
vantages they  had  an  artificial  one  due  to  the  policy  of  competing 
lines  of  railroad.  It  may  well  be  the  case,  as  is  argued  by  rail- 
road men,  that  sound  railroad  economy  demands  that  goods  in 
large  masses  should  be  carried  much  more  cheaply  than  those 
which  are  furnished  in  smaller  quantities.  But  it  is  certain  the 
practice  went  far  beyond  the  limits  of  any  such  justification.  There 
was  a  time  when  cattle  were  carried  from  Chicago  to  New  York 
at  a  dollar  a  car-load  ;  and  many  other  instances,  scarcely  less 
marked,  could  be  cited  from  the  history  of  trunk-line  competi- 
tion. The  fact  was,  that  in  an  active  railroad  war  freight-agents 
would  generally  accede  to  a  demand  for  reduced  rates  at  a  com- 
peting point,  whether  well  founded  or  not,  and  would  almost  al- 
ways turn  a  deaf  ear  to  similar  demands  from  local  shippers,  how- 
ever strongly  supported  by  considerations  of  far-sighted  business 
policy. 

But  this  was  not  the  worst.  Inequalities  between  different 
places  might  after  some  hardship  correct  themselves ;  differences 
of  treatment  between  individuals  could  not  be  thus  adjusted.  And 
the  system  of  making  rates  by  special  bargain  almost  always  led 
to  differences  between  individuals,  where  favors  were  too  often 
given  to  those  who  needed  or  deserved  them  least.  The  fluctua- 
tion of  rates  was  first  taken  advantage  of  by  the  unscrupulous 
speculator.  Often,  if  he  controlled  large  sources  of  shipment,  he 
might  receive  the  benefit  of  a  secret  agreement  by  which  he  could 
obtain  lower  rates  than  his  rivals  under  all  circumstances.  A  more 
effective  means  for  destroying  straightforwardness  in  business 
dealings  than  the  old  system  of  special  rates  was  never  devised. 
Sometimes,  where  one  competitor  was  overwhelmingly  strong,  the 
pretence  of  secrecy  was  thrown  aside,  and  the  railroad  companies 
so  far  forgot  their  public  duties  as  almost  openly  to  assist  one  con- 
cern in  crushing  its  rivals.  The  state  of  things  in  this  respect 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago  was  so  bad  that  it  is  painful  to  dwell 
upon ;  but  the  reformation  to-day  is  not  so  complete  that  we  can 
wash  our  hands  of  past  sins. 


362  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

Less  was  said  or  felt  of  similar  evils  in  passenger  traffic,  be- 
cause the  passenger  business  of  the  country  generally  is  of  much 
less  importance  than  its  freight  business,  either  to  the  railroad  in- 
vestors or  to  the  producers  themselves.  But  there  was  the  same 
fluctuation  in  passenger  rates  ;  and  there  was  an  outrageous  form 
of  discrimination  in  the  development  of  the  free-pass  system ;  a 
practice  which  would  have  fully  deserved  the  name  of  systematic 
bribery,  had  it  not  become  so  universal  that  most  men  hardly  rec- 
ognized any  personal  obligation  connected  with  the  acceptance  of 
a  pass.  Officials  and  other  citizens  of  influence  had  come  to  re- 
gard it  as  a  right ;  it  was  not  so  much  bribery  on  the  part  of  the 
companies  as  blackmail  levied  against  them. 

The  remedies  proposed  for  all  these  evils  have  been  various. 
From  the  very  beginning  until  now  there  have  been  some  who 
held  that  such  abuses  could  be  avoided  only  by  State  railroad  own- 
ership. Such  experiments  in  the  United  States  have  not  gone  far 
enough  to  furnish  conclusive  evidence  either  way  ;  but  the  experi- 
ence of  other  countries  indicates  that  State  railroads,  as  such,  do  not 
avoid  these  evils.  Where  they  have  been  worked  in  competition 
with  other  lines,  they  have  been  as  deeply  involved  in  these  abuses 
as  their  private  competitors — perhaps  more  so.  Where  the  gov- 
ernment has  obtained  control  of  all  the  railroads  of  the  country, 
and  made  such  arranofements  with  the  water-routes  as  to  render 
competition  impossible,  the  abuses  have  vanished,  because  there 
was  no  longer  any  conceivable  motive  to  continue  them.  But  this 
was  the  result  of  the  monopoly,  not  of  the  State  ownership  ;  and 
the  advantage  was  purchased  by  a  sacrifice  of  all  the  stimulus  of 
competition  toward  the  development  of  new  facilities. 

Many  people  assume  that,  because  the  government  represents 
the  nation  as  a  whole,  therefore  government  officials  will  not  be 
under  the  same  temptations  to  act  unjustly  which  are  felt  by  the 
representatives  of  a  private  corporation.  This  is  a  mistake.  It  is 
not  as  representatives  of  the  investor  that  railroad  agents  do  much 
injustice ;  this  motive  has  practically  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Most 
of  the  abuses  complained  of  are  positively  injurious  to  the  investor 
in  the  long  run.  When  officials  really  represent  the  interests  of 
the  property  with  wise  foresight,  they,  as  a  rule,  give  the  public  no 
ground  to  complain.     The  question  reduces  itself  to  this  :   Will  the 


FAILURE    OF   GRANGER   LAWS.  Z^^ 

State  choose  better  representatives  and  agents  than  a  private  cor- 
poration ?  Will  it  secure  a  higher  grade  of  officials,  more  com- 
petent, more  honest,  and  more  enterprising  ?  The  difference  be- 
tween state  and  private  railroads  is  not  so  much  on  matters  of 
policy  as  on  methods  of  administration.  The  success  of  govern- 
ment administration  varies  with  different  countries.  In  Prussia, 
where  it  is  seen  at  its  best,  the  results  are  in  some  respects  re- 
markably good ;  yet  even  here  the  roads  are  not  managed  on  any- 
thing like  the  American  standard  of  efficiency,  either  in  amount  of 
train  service,  in  speed,  or  in  rapidity  of  development.  And  what 
is  barely  successful  in  Prussia,  with  its  trained  civil  service  on  the 
one  hand  and  its  less  intense  industrial  demands  on  the  other,  can 
hardly  be  considered  possible  or  desirable  in  America.  No  one 
who  has  watched  the  workings  of  a  government  contract  can  de- 
sire to  have  the  whole  trade  of  the  country  put  to  the  expense  of 
supporting  such  methods  in  its  transportation  business. 

A  more  easy  method  of  trying  to  regulate  railroad  charges  has 
been  by  forced  reductions  in  rates.  This  was  tried  on  the  largest 
scale  in  the  Granger  movement  fifteen  years  ago.  A  fall  in  the 
price  of  wheat  had  rendered  it  difficult  for  the  farmers  to  make 
money.  The  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  in  investigating  the  causes, 
saw  that  the  larger  trade  centres,  where  there  was  competition, 
were  getting  lower  rates  than  the  local  producer.  They  reasoned 
that  if  all  the  farmers  could  get  such  low  rates,  they  could  make 
money ;  and  that,  if  the  roads  could  afford  to  make  these  low 
rates  for  any  points,  they  could  afford  to  do  it  for  all.  The  rail- 
road agents,  instead  of  foreseeing  the  storm  and  trying  to  prevent 
it,  assumed  a  defiant  attitude.  The  result  was  that  legislatures 
of  the  States  in  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  passed  laws  of  more 
or  less  rigidity,  scaling  down  all  rates  to  the  general  level  of  com- 
petitive ones.  After  a  period  of  some  doubt,  the  right  of  the  States 
to  do  this  was  admitted  by  the  courts.  But  before  the  legal 
possibility  had  been  decided,  the  practical  impossibility  of  such  a 
course  had  been  shown.  If  all  rates  were  reduced  to  the  level  of 
competitive  ones,  it  left  nothing  to  pay  fixed  charges.  On  such 
terms,  foreign  capital  would  not  come  into  the  State  ;  nor  could  it 
be  enticed  by  such  a  clumsy  effort  as  that  of  one  of  the  States, 
which  provided  "that  no  road  hereafter  constructed  shall  be  sub- 


364  THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

ject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act."  The  goose  which  laid  the 
golden  eggs  was  not  such  a  goose  as  to  be  deceived  by  this.  The 
untimely  death  of  several  of  her  species  meant  more  than  any 
promises  of  immunity  to  those  who  should  follow  in  her  footsteps. 
In  those  States  which  had  passed  the  most  severe  laws  capital 
would  not  invest ;  railroads  could  not  pay  interest,  their  develop- 
ment stopped,  and  the  growth  of  the  community  was  seriously 
checked  thereby.  The  most  obnoxious  laws  were  either  repealed 
or  allowed  to  remain  in  abeyance.  Where  the  movement  was 
strongest  in  1873  it  had  practically  spent  its  force  in  1876.  There 
have  been  many  similar  attempts  in  all  parts  of  the  country  since 
that  time  ;  just  now  they  are  peculiarly  active  ;  but  nothing  which 
approaches  in  recklessness  some  of  the  legislation  of  1873  and  1874. 
The  lesson  was  at  least  partly  learned. 

We  had  hardly  passed  the  crisis  of  the  effort  to  level  down, 
when  some  of  the  more  intelligent  railroad  men  made  an  effort  to 
level  up.  Recognizing  that  discriminations  and  fluctuating  rates 
were  an  evil,  they  sought  to  avoid  it  by  common  action  with  regard 
to  the  business  at  competing  points.  A  mere  agreement  as  to 
rates  to  be  charged  was  not  enough  to  secure  this  end.  Such  an 
agreement  was  sure  to  be  violated.  Even  if  the  leading  authorities 
meant  to  observe  it,  their  agents  could  always  evade  its  require- 
ments to  some  extent.  Such  evasion  was  favored  by  loose  ar- 
rangements between  connecting  roads,  and  by  the  somewhat  ir- 
responsible system  of  fast  freight  lines.  Wherever  it  existed,  it 
gave  rise  to  mutual  suspicion.  A  believed  that  his  road  did  it  be- 
cause he  could  not  help  it,  but  that  B  and  C  were  allowing  their 
roads  to  do  it  maliciously  ;  while  B  and  C  had  the  same  conscious- 
ness of  individual  rectitude  and  the  same  unkind  suspicions  with 
regard  to  A.  It  was  at  best  a  rather  hollow  truce,  which  did  not 
really  accomplish  its  purpose,  and  which  might  change  to  open 
war  on  very  slight  provocation. 

To  avoid  this  difficulty  a  pool,  or  division  of  traffic,  was  ar- 
ranged. It  is  a  fact  that,  whatever  wars  of  rates  there  may  be, 
the  percentage  of  traffic  carried  by  the  different  lines  varies  but 
little.  If  an  arbitrator  can  examine  the  books  and  decide  what 
these  percentages  have  been  in  the  past,  he  can  make  an  award  for 
the  future,  under  which  the  competitive  traffic  of  the  different  roads 


THE   RISE    OF  POOLING.  365 

may  be  fairly  divided.  The  arrangements  for  doing"  this  are  vari- 
ous. Sometimes  the  roads  carry  such  traffic  as  may  happen  to  be 
offered,  and  settle  the  differences  with  one  another  by  money  bal- 
ances ;  sometimes  they  actually  divert  traffic  from  one  line  to 
another.  But  the  advantaofe  of  either  of  these  arranofements  over 
a  mere  agreement  to  maintain  rates  is  that  they  cannot  be  violated 
without  direct  action  on  the  part  of  the  leading  authorities  of  the 
roads  concerned — either  in  open  withdrawal,  or  in  actual  bad  faith. 
The  ordinary  irregularities  of  agents  do  not,  under  a  pooling 
system,  give  rise  to  much  suspicion,  because  they  do  not  benefit 
the  road  in  whose  behalf  they  are  undertaken.  Its  percentage 
being  fixed  there  is  no  motive  for  rate-cutting.  So  great  is  this 
advantage  that  pooling  is  accepted  in  almost  all  other  countries  as 
a  natural  means  of  maintaining  equality  of  rates  ;  the  state  rail- 
roads of  Central  Europe  entering  into  such  contracts  with  compet- 
ing private  lines  and  even  with  water-routes.  In  America  itself, 
pools  have  had  a  longer  and  wider  history  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed. In  New  England  they  arose  and  continued  to  exist  on  a 
moderate  scale  without  attractingf  much  attention.  In  the  Missis- 
sippi  Valley,  the  Chicago- Omaha  pool  was  arranged  as  early  as 
1870,  and  formed  the  model  for  a  whole  system  of  such  arrange- 
ments extending  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Coast.  But,  as  involving 
wider  questions  of  public  policy,  the  activity  of  the  Southern  and 
the  Trunk  Line  Associations  has  attracted  chief  attention. 

The  man  whose  name  is  most  prominently  identified  with  both 
these  systems  is  Albert  Fink.  A  German  by  birth  and  education, 
his  long  experience  as  a  practical  railroad  engineer  did  not  deprive 
him  of  a  taste  for  studying  traffic  problems  on  their  theoretical 
side.  As  Vice-President  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville,  he  had 
given  special  attention  to  the  economic  conditions  affecting  the 
Southern  roads  ;  and  when,  in  the  years  1873-75,  "^  traffic  associa- 
tion was  formed  by  a  number  of  these  roads  to  secure  harmony  of 
action  on  matters  of  common  interest,  he  became  the  recognized 
leader.  His  success  in  arrangements  for  through  traffic  was  so 
conspicuous  that  when,  in  1877,  the  trunk  lines  were  exhausted 
with  an  unusually  destructive  war  of  rates,  they  looked  to  him  as 
the  only  man  who  could  deliver  them  from  their  trouble.  In  some 
lines,  division  of  traffic  had  already  been  resorted  to  ;  but  it  was  in 


366 


THE   RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 


the  hands  of  outside  parties,  Hi<:e  the  Standard  Oil  Company  or  the 
cattle  eveners,  and  was  made  a  means  of  oppression  against  shippers 
not  in  the  combination  itself. 


^..,, 
'^^- 


^■''k^^4<}j/}! 


The  conditions  were  not  favorable  ;  the  result  of  Fink's  efforts 
to  bring  order  out  of  chaos  was  slow  and  by  no  means  uninter- 
rupted. Yet  on  the  whole,  as  was  admitted  even  by  opponents  of 
the  pooling  system,  it  contributed  to  steadiness  and  equality  of 
rates.  The  arrangement  of  these  agreements  was  hampered  by 
their  want  of  legal  status.  While  the  law  did  not  at  that  time  actu- 
ally prohibit  them,  it  refused  to  enforce  them.  .  Existing  thus  on 
sufferance,  they  depended  on  the  good  will  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties. None  but  a  man  of  Fink's  unimpeached  integrity  and  high 
intellectual  power  could  have  kept  matters  running  at  all  ;  and  even 
he  could  not  prevent  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of  making  hay  while 
the  sun  shines,  more  or  less  regardless  of  the  future.  The  results 
of  the  trunk-line  pool  were  unsatisfactory — most  of  all  to  those  who 
believed  in  pools  as  a  system  ;  but  it  is  fair  to  attribute  a  large  part 


THE  MASSACHUSETTS  RAILROAD   COMMISSION. 


3^7 


of  this  failure  to  the  absence  of  legal  recognition,  which  in  a  man- 
ner compelled  the  agreements  to  be  arranged  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  day  rather  than  of  the  future. 

Meantime  an  equally  important  contribution  to  the  solution  of 
the  railroad  question  was  being  worked  out  in  another  quarter.  In 
the  year  1869  the  Massachusetts  Railroad  Commission  was  estab- 
lished. Its  powers  were  so  slight  that  it  was  not  regarded  as  likely 
to  be  an  influential  public  agency.  Fortunately  it  numbered  among 
its  members  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.  ;  a  man  whose  efficiency 
more  than  made  up  for  any  want  of  nominal  powers.  In  his  hands 
the  mere  power  to  report  became  the  most  effective  of  all  weapons. 
Representing  at  once  enlightened  public  judgment  and  far-sighted 
railroad  policy,  he  did  much  to  bring  the  two  into  harmony  and 
protect  the  legitimate  interests  on  both  sides  from  short-sighted 
misuse  for  the  benefit  of  either  party.  The  detail  of  his  work  is 
matter  of  past  history  ;  perhaps  its  most  prominent  result  was  to 
introduce  to  State  legislation  the  idea  of  a  railroad  commission  as 
an  administrative  body.  Those  States  which  had  no  stringent 
laws  appointed  commissions  to 
take  their  place  ;  those  which 
had  overstringent  ones  appoint- 
ed commissions  to  use  discre- 
tion in  applying  them.  In 
either  case,  the  existence  of  a 
body  of  men  representing  the 
State,  but  possessing  the  tech- 
nical knowledge  to  see  what 
the  exigencies  of  railroad  busi- 
ness demanded,  was  a  protec- 
tion to  all  parties  concerned. 

But  matters  were  rapidly 
passing  beyond  the  sphere  of 
State  legislation.  Each  new 
consolidation  of  systems,  each 
additional  development  of  through  traffic,  made  it  more  impossible 
to  control  railroad  policy  by  the  action  of  individual  States.  It 
could  only  be  done  by  a  development  of  the  law  in  the  United 
States  courts  or  by  Congressional  legislation.     The  former  result 


Charles  Francis  Adams. 


J 


68  THE  RAILWAY  IN  ITS  BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 


was  necessarily  slow  ;  each  year  showed  an  increased  demand  for 
special  action  on  the  part  of  Congress.  But  such  action  was  hin- 
dered by  divergence  of  opinion  in  that  body  itself.  One  set  of 
men  wished  a  moderate  law,  prohibiting  the  most  serious  abuses 
of  railroad  power,  and  enforced  under  the  discretionary  care  of  a 
commission.  These  men  were  for  the  most  part  not  unwilling  to 
see  pools  legalized  if  their  members  could  thereby  be  held  to  a 
fuller  measure  of  responsibility.  On  the  other  hand,  the  extremists 
wished  to  prescribe  a  system  of  equal  mileage  rates  ;  they  would 
hear  of  no  such  thing  as  a  commission,  and  hated  pools  as  an  in- 
vention of  the  adversary.  Between  the  two  lay  a  large  body  of 
members  who  had  no  convictions  on  the  matter,  but  were  desirous 
to  please  everybody  and  offend  nobody — a  hard  task  in  this  par- 
ticular case.  It  was  nearly  nine  years  from  the  time  Mr.  Reagan 
introduced  his  first  bill  when  a  compromise  was  finally  effected — 
largely  by  the  influence  of  Senator  Cullom.  As  compromises  go, 
it  was  a  tolerably  fair  one.  The  extremists  sacrificed  their  oppo- 
sition to  a  commission,  but  secured  the  prohibition  of  pools  ;  the 
disputed  points  with  regard  to  rates  were  left  in  such  a  shape  that 
no  man  knew  what  the  law  meant,  and  each  was,  for  the  time  being, 
able  to  interpret  it  to  suit  the  wishes  of  his  Congressional  district. 

The  immediate  effects  of  the  law  were  extremely  good.  There 
were  certain  sections  of  it,  like  those  which  secured  publicity  of 
rates  and  equal  treatment  for  different  persons  in  the  same  circum- 
stances, whose  wisdom  was  universally  admitted.  Indeed  it  was 
rather  a  disgrace,  both  to  the  railroad  agents  and  to  the  courts, 
that  we  had  to  wait  for  an  act  of  Congress  to  secure  these  ends ; 
and  most  of  the  railroads  made  up  for  past  remissness  in  this  re- 
spect by  quite  a  spasm  of  virtue.  In  some  instances  it  was  even 
thought  that  they  "  stood  up  so  straight  as  to  lean  over  back- 
ward." But  this  was  not  the  only  part  of  the  law  which  proved 
efficient.  The  very  vagueness  of  the  clause  concerning  the  rela- 
tive rates  for  through  and  local  traffic,  which  under  other  circum- 
stances might  have  proved  fatal,  put  a  most  salutary  power  into 
the  hands  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and  one  which 
they  were  not  slow  to  use. 

The  President  was  fortunate  in  his  selection  of  commissioners ; 
above  all   in  the  chairman,  Judge  T.   M.  Cooley,   of  Michigan,  a 


EFFECTIVENESS   OF   THE   INTERSTATE   COMMISSION.     369 


man  whose  character,  knowledge  of  public  law,  and  technical  famil- 
iarity with  railroad  business  made  him  singularly  well  fitted  for  the 
place.  The  work  of  the  Interstate  Commission,  like  that  of  its 
Massachusetts  prototype,  shows 
how  much  more  important  is 
personal  power  than  mere  tech- 
nical authority.  It  was  supposed 
at  first  that  the  commission  would 
be  a  purely  administrative  body, 
with  discretion  to  suspend  the 
law.  Instead  of  this,  they  have 
enforced  and  interpreted  it ;  and 
in  the  process  of  interpretation 
have  virtually  created  a  body  of 
additional  law,  which  is  read  and 
quoted  as  authority.      With  but  _   ,^ 

little  ground  for  expecting  it  from 

the  letter  of  the  act,  they  have  become  a  judicial  body  of  the  high- 
est importance.  Their  existence  seems  to  furnish  a  possibility  for 
an  elastic  development  of  transportation  law,  neither  so  weak  as 
to  be  ineffective  nor  so  strong  as  to  break  by  its  own  rigidity. 

But  the  final  test  of  their  success  is  yet  to  come.  They  have 
laid  down  a  few  principles  as  to  the  cases  when  competition  justi- 
fies through  rates  lower  than  those  at  intermediate  points.  But 
the  application  of  these  principles  is  as  yet  far  from  settled  ;  and  it 
is  rendered  doubly  hard  by  the  clause  against  pools,  which  does 
much  to  hamper  the  roads  in  any  attempt  to  secure  common  action 
on  the  matter  of  through  rates.  Each  ill-judged  piece  of  State 
legislation,  and  each  reckless  attempt  to  attack  railroad  profits,  in- 
creases the  difficulty.  There  was  a  time  when  the  powers  of  rail- 
road managers  were  developed  without  corresponding  responsi- 
bility. In  many  parts  of  the  country  we  are  now  going  to  the 
other  extreme— increasing  the  responsibility  of  railroad  authorities 
toward  shipper  and  employees.  State  law  and  national  commission, 
and  at  the  same  time  striving  to  restrict  their  powers  to  the  utmost. 
Such  a  policy  cannot  be  continued  indefinitely  without  a  disastrous 
effect  upon  railroad  service,  and,  indirectly,  upon  the  business  of 

the  country  as  a  whole. 
24 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

By  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

Railways  the  Largest  Single  Interest  in  the  United  States — Some  Impressive  Statistics — 
Growth  of  a  Complex  Organization — Five  Divisions  of  Necessary  Work — Other 
Special  Departments — Importance  of  the  Operating  Department — The  Evil  of 
Strikes — To  be  Remedied  by  Thorough  Organization — Not  the  Ordinary  Relation 
between  Employer  and  Employee — Of  what  the  Model  Railway  Service  Should 
Consist — Temporary  and  Permanent  Employees — Promotion  from  One  Grade  to 
the  Other — Rights  and  Privileges  of  the  Permanent  Service — Employment  during 
Good  Behavior — Proposed  Tribunal  for  Adjusting  Differences  and  Enforcing  Dis- 
cipline— A  Regular  Advance  in  Pay  for  Faithful  Service — A  Fund  for  Hospital 
Service,  Pensions,  and  Insurance — Railroad  Educational  Institutions — The  Em- 
ployer to  Have  a  Voice  in  Management  through  a  Council — A  System  of  Represen- 
tation. 

N  1836 — fifty  years  ago — there  were  but  a  little  more  than 
1,000  miles  of  railroad  on  the  American  continents,  repre- 
senting an  outlay  of  some  $35,000,000,  and  controlled  by 
a  score  or  so  of  corporations.  There  are  now  (1886)  about  135,- 
000  miles  in  the  United  States  alone,  capitalized  at  over  eight 
thousand  millions  of  dollars. 

The  railroad  interest  is  thus  the  largest  single  interest  in  the 
country.  Probably  600,000  men  are  in  its  employ  as  wage-earn- 
ers. It  is  safe  to  say  that  over  two  millions  of  human  beings  are 
directly  dependent  upon  it  for  their  daily  support.  The  Union 
Pacific,  as  a  single  and  by  no  means  the  largest  member  of  this 
system,  controls  5,150  miles  of  road,  represented  by  stock  and 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $275,000,000.     More  than   15,000  names 

Note. — The  following  paper  was  prepared  for  a  special  purpose  in  June,  1886,  and  then  submitted 
to  several  of  the  leading  officials  directly  engaged  in  the  local  management  of  the  lines  operated  by 
the  Union  Pacific  Railway  Company,  of  which  the  writer  had  been  president  for  two  years.  It  drew 
forth  from  them  various  criticisms,  which  led  to  the  belief  that  the  publication  of  the  paper  at  that  time 
might  easily  result  in  more  harm  than  good.     It  was  accordingly  laid  aside,  and  no  use  made  of  it. 

Nearly  three  years  have  since  elapsed,  and  the  events  of  the  year  1888— with  its  strike  of  engineers 
on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy— seem  to  indicate  that  the  relations  of  railroad  employees  to  the 
railroad  companies  have  undergone  no  material  change  since  the  year  1886,  when  the  strike  on  the 


DIVISION  OF    WORK.  371 

are  borne  upon  its  pay-rolls.  Its  yearly  income  has  exceeded 
$29,000,000,  and  in  1885  was  $26,000,000.  Large  as  these  ag- 
gregates sound,  there  are  other  corporations  which  far  exceed  the 
Union  Pacific  both  in  income  and  in  capitalization,  and  not  a  few 
exceed  it  in  mileage.  The  Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  either  owns 
or  directly  controls  7,300  miles  of  road.  It  is  represented  by  a 
capitalization  of  $670,000,000 ;  its  annual  income  is  $93,000,000 ; 
it  carries  75,000  names  on  its  pay-rolls. 

This  has  been  the  outgrowth  of  a  single  half-century.  The 
vast  and  intricate  organization  implied  in  the  management  of  such 
an  interest  had,  as  it  were,  to  be  improvised.  The  original  com- 
panies were  small  and  simple  affairs.  Some  retired  man  of  busi- 
ness held,  as  a  rule,  the  position  of  president ;  while  another 
man,  generally  a  civil  engineer,  and  as  such  supposed  to  be 
more  or  less  acquainted  with  the  practical  working  of  railroads, 
acted  as  superintendent.  The  superintendent,  in  point  of  fact,  at- 
tended to  everything.  He  was  the  head  of  the  commercial  de- 
partment ;  the  head  of  the  operating  department ;  the  head  of 
the  construction  department ;  and  the  head  of  the  mechanical  de- 
partment. But  there  is  a  limit  to  what  any  single  man  can  do  ; 
and  so,  as  the  organization  developed,  it  became  necessary  to  re- 
lieve the  railroad  superintendent  of  many  of  his  duties.  Accord- 
ingly, the  working  management  naturally  subdivided  itself  into 
separate  departments,  at  the  head  of  which  men  were  placed  who 
had  been  trained  all  their  lives  to  do  the  particular  work  required 
in  each  department.  In  the  same  way,  the  employees  of  the  com- 
pany— the  wage-earners,  as  they  are  called — originally  few  in 
number,  held  toward  the  company  relations  similar  to  those  which 
the  employees  in  factories,  shops,  or  on  farms,  held  to  those  who 
employed  them.      In  other  words,  there  was  in  the  railroad  system 

Missouri  Pacific  took  place.  The  same  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs  apparently  continues. 
There  is  a  deep-seated  trouble  somewhere. 

No  sufficient  reason,  therefore,  exists  for  longer  suppressing  this  paper.  Provided  the  suggestions 
contained  in  it  have  any  value  at  all,  they  may  at  least  be  accepted  as  contributions  to  a  discussion 
which  of  itself  has  an  importance  that  cannot  be  either  denied  or  ignored. 

The  paper  is  printed  as  it  was  prepared.  The  figures  and  statistics  contained  in  it  have  no  applica- 
tion, therefore,  to  the  present  time  ;  nor  has  it  been  thought  worth  while  to  change  them,  inasmuch  as 
they  have  little  or  no  bearing  upon  the  argument.  That  is  just  as  applicable  to  the  state  of  affairs 
now  as  it  was  to  that  which  existed  then.  The  only  difference  is  that  the  course  of  events  during  the 
three  intervening  years  has  demonstrated  that  the  paper,  if  it  does  no  good,  will  certainly  do  no  harm. 
Boston,  February  4,  1889.  C.  F.  A. 


372  THE  PREVENTION   OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

no  organized  service.  As  the  employees  increased  until  they 
were  numbered  by  hundreds,  better  organization  became  a  neces- 
sity. The  community  was  absolutely  dependent  upon  its  railroad 
service  for  continued  existence,  for  the  running  of  trains  is  to  the 
modern  body  politic  very  much  what  the  circulation  of  blood  is  to 
the  human  being.  An  organized  system,  therefore,  had  to  grow 
up.  This  fact  was  not  recognized  at  first ;  and,  indeed,  is  only 
imperfectly  recognized  yet.  Still  the  fact  was  there ;  and  inas- 
much as  it  was  there  and  was  not  recognized,  trouble  ensued.  No 
rationally  organized  railroad  service — that  is,  no  service  in  which 
the  employer  and  employed  occupy  definite  relations  toward  each 
other,  recognized  by  each,  and  by  the  body  politic — no  such  ser- 
vice exists.  Approaches  to  it  only  have  been  made.  A  discus- 
sion, therefore,  of  the  form  that  such  a  service  would  naturally 
take  if  it  were  organized,  cannot  be  otherwise  than  timely. 

It  has  already  been  noticed  that  in  the  process  of  organization 
the  railroad,  following  the  invariable  law,  naturally  subdivides  it- 
self into  different  departments.*  In  the  case  of  every  corporation 
of  magnitude  there  are  of  these  departments,  whether  one  man  is 
at  the  head  of  one  or  several  of  them,  at  least  five.     These  are  : 

I  St.  The  financial  department,  which  provides  the  ways  and 
means. 

2d.  The  construction  department,  which  builds  the  railroad 
after  the  means  to  build  it  are  provided. 

3d.  The  operating  department,  which  operates  the  road  after 
it  is  built. 

4th.  The  commercial  department,  which  finds  business  for  the 
operated  road  to  do,  and  regulates  the  rates  which  are  to  be 
charged  for  doing  it. 

5th.  The  legal  department,  which  attends  to  all  the  numerous 
questions  which  arise  in  the  practical  working  of  everyone  of  the 
other  departments. 

These  five  divisions  of  necessary  work  exist  in  the  organization 
of  every  company,  no  matter  how  small  it  may  be,  or  how  few 
officers  it  may  employ.  In  the  larger  companies  the  need  is  found 
for  yet  other  special  departments.  In  the  case  of  the  Union 
Pacific,  for  instance,  there  are  two  such :   First,  the  comptroller's 

*  See  "  Railway  Management,"  page  151. 


MAGNITUDE    OF   THE    OPERATING   DEPARTMENT.       Z^2> 

department,  which  estabHshes  and  is  responsible  for  the  whole 
method  of  accounting ;  second,  a  department  which  is  responsible 
for  all  the  numerous  interests  which  a  large  railroad  company 
almost  of  necessity  develops  outside  of  its  strict,  legitimate  work 
as  a  common  carrier. 

When  it  comes  to  dealing  with  the  employees  of  the  company, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  vast  majority  of  those  whose  names  are 
on  the  pay-rolls  belong  to  the  operating  department.  This  de- 
partment is  responsible  not  only  for  the  running  of  trains  and, 
usually,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  permanent  way,  but  also  for 
the  repairs  of  rolling  stock.  All  the  train-hands,  all  the  section- 
men  and  bridge-gangs,  and  all  the  mechanics  in  the  repair  shops 
thus  belong  to  the  operating  department.  The  accounting  de- 
partment employs  only  clerks.  The  same  is  true  of  the  commercial 
department,  though  the  commercial  department  has  also  agents  at 
different  business  centres  who  look  after  the  company's  interests 
and  secure  traffic  for  it.  The  construction  department  is  in  the 
hands  of  civil  engineers,  and  the  force  employed  by  it  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  amount  of  building  which  may  at  any  time  be  going 
on.  As  a  rule,  the  bulk  of  the  employees  in  the  construction  de- 
partment are  paid  by  contractors,  and  not  directly  by  the  railroad 
company.  The  legal  department  consists  only  of  lawyers  and 
the  few  clerks  necessary  to  aid  them  in  transacting  their  business. 

In  the  operating  department  of  the  Union  Pacific  at  the  present 
time  (1886)  about  14,000  names  are  carried  upon  the  pay-roll. 
The  number  varies  according  to  the  season  of  the  year  and  the 
pressure  of  traffic.  In  January,  and  during  the  winter  months,  the 
average  will  fall  to  12,000,  while  in  June  and  during  the  summer  it 
rises  to  14,000. 

Of  these,  2,800,  or  20  per  cent.,  are  engaged  in  train  move- 
ment;  4,200,  or  30  per  cent,  are  in  the  machine-shops  and  in 
charge  of  motive  power  and  rolling-stock  ;  7,000,  or  50  per  cent., 
are  employed  in  various  miscellaneous  ways,  as  flag-men,  section- 
hands,  station  agents,  switch-men,  etc.,  etc. 

So  far  as  the  wage-earner  is  concerned,  it  is,  therefore,  this 
portion  of  the  force  of  a  railroad  company  which  may  be  called 
distinctively  "  the  service."  If  good  relations  exist  between  the 
men  employed  in  its  operating  department  and  the  company  no 


374  THE  PREVENTION  OF  RAILWAY   STRIKES. 

serious  trouble  can  ever  arise  in  the  operation  of  the  road.  The 
clerks  in  the  financial  department,  or  the  engineers  in  the  con- 
struction department,  might  leave  the  company's  employ  in  a  body, 
and  their  places  could  soon  be  filled.  In  point  of  fact,  they  never 
do  leave  it ;  but  should  they  do  so,  the  public  would  experience  no 
inconvenience.  The  inconvenience — and  it  wouM  be^very  con- 
siderable— would  be  confined  to  the  office  of  the  company,  and 
their  work  would  fall  into  arrears.  It  is  not  so  with  the  operating 
department.  So  far  as  the  community  at  large  is  concerned,  what- 
ever difficulties  arise  in  the  working  of  railroads  develop  them- 
selves here.  All  serious  railroad  strikes  take  place  among  those 
engaged  in  the  shops,  on  the  track,  or  in  handling  trains.  That 
these  difficulties  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  is  therefore  a 
necessity.  They  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  only  when  the  rail- 
road service  is  thoroughly  organized. 

How  then  can  this  service  be  better  organized  than  it  is  ?  It 
is  usually  maintained  that  only  the  ordinary  relation  of  employer 
and  employed  should  exist  between  the  railroad  company  and  the 
men  engaged  in  operating  its  road.  If  the  farmer  is  dissatisfied  with 
his  hands,  he  can  dismiss  them.  In  like  manner,  if  the  laborer  is 
dissatisfied  with  the  farmer,  he  can  leave,  his  employ.  It  is  argued 
that  exactly  the  same  relation  should  exist  between  the  great 
railroad  corporation  and  the  tens  of  thousands  of  men  in  its  operat- 
ing department.  The  proposition  is  not  tenable.  The  circum- 
stances are  different.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  of  no  practical  con- 
sequence to  the  community  whether  difficulties  which  prevent  the 
work  of  the  farm  from  going  on  arise  or  do  not  arise  between 
an  individual  farmer  and  his  laborers.  The  work  of  innumerable 
other  farms  goes  on  all  the  same,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
what  occurs  in  the  management  of  the  particular  farm.  So  it  is 
even  with  large  factories,  machine-shops — in  fact,  with  all  industrial 
concerns  which  do  not  perform  immediate  public  functions.  A 
railroad  company  does  perform  immediate  public  functions.  The 
community  depends  upon  it  for  the  daily  and  necessary  movements 
of  civilized  existence.  This  fact  has  to  be  recognized.  For  a  rail- 
road to  pause  in  its  operation  implies  paralysis  to  the  community 
which  it  serves. 

Such  being  the   fact,    it   is  futile   to   argue  that  the    ordinary 


TEMPORARY  AND   PERMANENT  SERVICE.  375 

relations  of  employer  and  employed  should  obtain  in  the  railroad 
service.  Something  else  is  required  ;  and  because  something  else 
is  required  but  has  not  yet  been  devised  we  have  had  the  numer- 
ous difficulties  v^hich  have  taken  place  during  the  present  year — 
difficulties  which  have  occasioned  the  community  much  inconven- 
ience and  loss. 

The  model  railroad  service,  therefore,  is  now  to  be  considered. 
Of  what  would  it  consist  ?  At  present,  there  is  practically  no 
difference  between  individuals  in  the  employ  of  a  great  railroad 
corporation.  All  the  wage-earners  in  its  pay  stand  in  like  position 
toward  it.  There  should  be  a  difference  among  them  ;  and  a 
marked  difference,  due  to  circumstances  which  should  receive  rec- 
ognition. Take  again  the  case  of  the  Union  Pacific.  The  Union 
Pacific,  it  has  already  been  mentioned,  numbers  14,000  employees 
in  its  operating  department  as  a  maximum,  and  12,000  as  a 
minimum.  They  vary  with  the  season  of  the  year,  increasing  in 
summer  and  diminishing  in  winter.  Consequently  there  is  a  large 
body  of  men  who  are  permanently  in  its  employ  ;  and  there  is  a 
smaller  body,  although  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  whole, 
who  are  in  its  employ  only  temporarily.  Here  is  a  fact,  and  facts 
should  be  recognized.  If  this  particular  fact  is  recognized,  the 
service  of  the  company  should  be  organized  accordingly,  and  each 
of  the  several  divisions  of  the  operating  department  would  have  on 
its  rolls  two  classes  of  men:  First,  those  who  have  been  admitted 
into  the  permanent  service  of  the  company ;  and,  second,  those 
who  for  any  cause  are  only  temporarily  in  that  service.  And  no 
man  should  be  admitted  into  the  permanent  service  until  after  he 
has  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  temporary  service.  In  other 
words,  admission  into  the  permanent  service  would  be  in  the  nature 
of  a  promotion  from  an  apprenticeship  in  the  temporary  service. 

Those  in  the  temporary  service  need  not,  therefore,  be  at  pres- 
ent considered.  They  hold  to  the  companies  only  the  ordinary 
relation  of  employee  to  employer.  They  may  be  looked  upon  as 
candidates  for  admission  into  the  permanent  service — they  are  on 
probation.  So  long  as  they  are  on  probation  they  may  be  en- 
gaged and  discharged  at  pleasure.  The  permanent  service  alone 
is  now  referred  to. 

The  permanent  service  of  a  great  railroad  company  should  in 


2,"]^  THE  PREVENTION  OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

many  essential  respects  be  very  much  like  a  national  service,  that  of 
the  army  or  navy,  for  instance,  except  in  one  particular,  and  a  very 
important  particular  :  to  wit,  those  in  it  must  of  necessity  always 
be  at  liberty  to  resign  from  it — in  other  words,  to  leave  it.  The 
railroad  company  can  hold  no  one  in  its  employ  one  moment  against 
his  will.  Meanwhile,  to  belong  to  the  permanent  service  of  a 
railroad  company  of  the  first  class,  so  far  as  the  employee  is  con- 
cerned, should  mean  a  great  deal.  It  should  carry  with  it  certain 
rights  and  privileges  which  would  cause  that  service  to  be  eagerly 
sought.  In  the  first  place,  he  who  had  passed  through  his  period 
of  probation  and  whose  name  was  enrolled  in  the  permanent  ser- 
vice would  naturally  feel  that  his  interests  were  to  a  large  extent 
identified  with  those  of  the  company ;  and  that  he  on  the  other 
hand  had  rights  and  privileges  which  the  company  was  bound  to 
respect.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  boast  in  France  that  every  pri- 
vate soldier  in  the  French  army  carried  the  possibility  of  the  field- 
marshal's  baton  in  his  knapsack.  It  should  be  the  same  with  every 
employee  in  the  permanent  service  of  a  great  American  railroad 
company.  The  possibility  of  his  rising  to  any  position  in  that 
service  for  which  he  showed  himself  qualified  should  be  open  be- 
fore him  and  constantly  present  in  his  mind.  Many  of  the  most 
remarkable  and  successful  men  who  have  handled  railroads  in  the 
United  States  began  their  active  lives  as  brakemen,  as  telegraph 
operators,  even  as  laborers  on  the  track.  Such  examples  are  of 
inestimable  value.     They  reveal  possibilities  open  to  all. 

Beyond  this,  the  man  who  is  permanently  enrolled  should  feel 
that,  though  he  may  not  rise  to  a  high  position,  yet,  as  a  matter  of 
right,  he  is  entitled  to  hold  the  position  to  which  he  has  risen  just 
so  long  as  he  demeans  himself  properly  and  does  his  duty  well. 
He  should  be  free  from  fear  of  arbitrary  dismissal.  In  order  that 
he  may  have  this  security,  a  tribunal  should  be  devised  before 
which  he  would  have  the  right  to  be  heard  in  case  charges  of  mis- 
demeanor are  advanced  against  him. 

No  such  tribunal  has  yet  been  provided  in  the  organization  of 
any  railroad  company  ;  neither,  as  a  rule,  has  the  suggestion  of 
such  a  tribunal  been  looked  upon  with  favor  either  by  the  official  or 
the  employee.  The  latter  is  apt  to  argue  that  he  already  has  such 
a  tribunal  in  the  executive  committee  of  his  own  labor  organiza- 


A    TRIBUNAL    OF  APPEAL.  Z77 

tion  ;  and  a  tribunal,  too,  upon  which  he  can  depend  to  decide  al- 
ways in  his  favor.  The  official,  on  the  other  hand,  contends  that 
if  he  is  to  be  responsible  for  results  he  must  have  the  power  of 
arbitrarily  dismissing  the  employee.  Without  it  he  will  not  be 
able  to  maintain  discipline.  The  two  arguments,  besides  answer- 
ing each  other,  divide  the  railroad  service  into  hostile  camps.  The 
executive  committees  of  the  labor  organizations  practically  cannot 
save  the  members  of  those  orofanizations  from  beine  iiot  rid  of, 
though  they  do  in  many  cases  protect  them  against  summary  dis- 
charge ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  official,  in  the  face  of  the  execu- 
tive committee,  enjoys  only  in  theory  the  power  of  summary  dis- 
charge. The  situation  is  accordingly  false  and  bad.  It  provokes 
hostility.  The  one  party  boasts  of  a  protection  which  he  does  not 
enjoy  ;  the  other  insists  upon  a  power  which  he  dares  not  exercise. 
The  remedy  is  manifest.  A  system  should  be  devised  based  on 
recognized  facts  ;  a  system  which  would  secure  reasonable  protec- 
tion to  the  employee,  and  at  the  same  time  enable  the  official  to 
enforce  all  necessary  discipline.  This  a  permanent  service,  with 
a  properly  organized  tribunal  to  appeal  to,  would  bring  about. 
Meanwhile  the  winnowing  process  would  be  provided  for  in  the 
temporary  service.  Over  that  the  official  would  have  complete 
control,  and  the  idle,  the  worthless,  and  the  insubordinate  would 
be  kept  off.  The  wheat  would  there  be  separated  from  the  chaff. 
Until  such  a  system  is  devised  the  existing  chaos,  made  up  of 
powerless  protection  and  impotent  power,  must  apparently  con- 
tinue. None  the  less  it  is  a  delusion  on  the  one  side  and  a  mock- 
ery on  the  other. 

How  the  members  of  such  a  court  as  has  been  suggested 
would  be  appointed  and  by  whom  is  matter  for  consideration.  It 
would,  of  course,  be  essential  that  the  appointees  should  command 
the  confidence  of  all  in  the  company's  service,  whether  officials  or 
employees.  The  possible  means  of  reaching  this  result  will 
presently  be  discussed. 

Not  only  should  permanent  employees  be  entitled  to  retain 
their  position  during  good  behavior,  but  they  should  also  look 
forward  to  the  continual  bettering  of  their  condition.  That  is, 
apart  from  promotion,  seniority  in  the  service  should  carry  with 
it  certain   rights  and   privileges.     Take  the  case    of  conductors, 


378  THE   PREVENTION  OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

brakemen,  engineers,  machinists,  and  the  Hke  ;  there  seems  to  be 
no  reason  why  length  of  faithful  service  should  not  carry  with  it  a 
stipulated  increase  of  pay.  If  conductors,  for  example,  have  a 
regular  pay  of  $ioo  a  month,  there  seems  no  good  reason  why 
the  pay  should  not  increase  by  steps  of  $5  with  each  five  years' 
service,  so  that  when  the  conductor  has  been  twenty-five  years  in 
the  service  his  pay  should  be  increased  by  one-quarter,  or  $25  a 
month.  The  increase  might  be  more  or  less.  The  figures  sug- 
gested merely  illustrate.  So  also  with  the  engineer,  the  brake- 
man,  the  section-man,  the  machinist.  A  certain  prospect  of  in- 
creased pay,  if  a  man  demeans  himself  faithfully,  is  a  great  incen- 
tive to  faithful  demeanor.  This  is  another  fact  which  it  would 
be  well  not  to  lose  sight  of. 

There  ought  likewise  to  be  connected  with  every  large  railroad 
organization  certain  funds,  contributed  partly  by  the  company 
and  partly  by  the  voluntary  action  of  employees,  which  would  pro- 
vide for  hospital  service,  retiring  pensions,  sick  pensions,  and  in- 
surance against  accident  and  death.  Every  man  whose  name  has 
once  been  enrolled  in  the  permanent  employ  of  the  company 
should  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  these  funds  ;  and  he  should  be 
deprived  of  it  only  by  his  own  voluntary  act,  or  as  the  consequence 
of  some  misdemeanor  proved  before  a  tribunal.  At  present  the 
railroad  companies  of  this  country  are  under  no  inducement  to 
establish  these  mutual  insurance  societies,  or  to  contribute  to  them. 
Their  service,  in  principle  at  least,  is  a  shifting  service ;  and  so 
long  as  it  is  shifting  the  elaborate  organizations  which  are  essen- 
tial to  the  safe  manasfement  of  the  funds  referred  to  cannot  be 
called  into  existence.  A  tie-up,  as  it  might  be  called,  between  the 
companies  and  their  employees  is  a  condition  precedent.  Were 
this  once  effected  the  rest  would  follow  by  steps  both  natural  and 
easy.  For  a  company  like  the  Union  Pacific  to  contribute  ^100,- 
000  a  year  to  a  hospital  fund  and  retiring  pension  and  insurance 
associations  would  be  a  small  matter,  if  the  thing  could  be  so 
arranged  that  the  permanent  employees  themselves  would  con- 
tribute a  like  sum  ;  and  permanent  employees  only  would  contrib- 
ute at  all.  Once  let  the  gfrowth  of  associations  like  these  beo-in, 
and  it  proceeds  with  almost  startling  rapidity.  At  the  end  of  ten 
years  the  accumulated  capital  on  the  basis  of  contribution    sug- 


RAILROAD   EDUCATIONAL   INSTITUTIONS.  379 

gested  would  probably  amount  to  millions.  Every  man  who  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  become  a  permanent  employee  of  the  company 
would  then  be  assured  of  provision  in  case  of  sickness  or  disability, 
and  his  family  would  be  assured  of  it  in  case  of  his  death. 

The  moment  a  permanent  service  was  thus  established  it  would 
also  involve  further  provision  of  an  educational  nature.  That  is, 
the  companies  must  continually  provide  a  stock  of  men  for  the 
future.  Where  a  boy — the  son  of  an  employee — grows  up  always 
looking  forward  to  entering  the  company's  service,  he  becomes  to 
that  company  very  much  what  a  cadet  at  West  Point  or  Annap- 
olis is  to  the  army  or  the  navy  of  the  United  States  ;  the  idea  of 
loyalty  to  the  company  and  of  pride  in  its  service  grows  up  with 
him.  Railroad  educational  institutions  of  this  sort  have  already 
been  created  by  at  least  one  corporation  in  the  country,  and  they 
should  be  created  by  all  railroad  corporations  of  the  first  class. 
The  children  of  employees  would  naturally  go  into  these  schools, 
and  the  best  of  them  would  at  the  proper  age  be  sent  out  upon 
the  road  to  take  their  places  in  the  shops,  on  the  track,  or  at  the 
brake.  From  those  thus  educated  the  higher  positions  in  the 
company  would  thereafter  be  filled.  The  cost  of  maintaining 
these  schools,  at  least  in  part,  would  become  a  regular  item  in  the 
operating  expenses  of  the  road.  Properly  handled,  a  vast  economy 
would  be  effected  throuofh  them.  The  morale  of  the  service  would 
gradually  be  raised,  and  the  morale  of  a  railroad  is,  if  properly 
viewed,  no  less  important  than  the  morale  of  an  army  or  navy.  It 
is  invaluable. 

But  it  is  futile  to  suppose  that  such  a  service  as  that  outlined 
could  be  organized,  in  America  at  least,  unless  those  concerned  in 
it  were  allowed  a  voice  in  its  management.  Practically  the  most 
important  feature  of  the  whole  is  therefore  yet  to  be  considered. 
How  is  the  employee  to  be  assured  a  voice  in  the  management 
of  these  joint  interests,  without  bringing  about  demoralization  ? 
No  one  has.  yet  had  the  courage  to  face  this  question  ;  and  yet  it 
is  a  question  which  must  be  faced  if  a  solution  of  existing  difficul- 
ties is  to  be  found.  If  the  employees  contribute  to  the  insurance 
and  other  funds,  it  is  right  that  they  should  have  a  voice  in  the 
management  of  those  funds.  If  an  employee  holds  his  situation 
during  good  behavior,  he  has  a  right  to  be  heard  in  the  organi- 


380  THE  PREVENTION   OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

zation  of  the  board  which,  in  case  of  his  suspension  for  alleged 
cause,  is  to  pass  upon  his  behavior.  No  system  will  succeed 
which  does  not  recognize  these  rights.  In  other  words,  it  will  be 
impossible  to  establish  perfectly  good  faith  and  the  highest 
morale  in  the  service  of  the  companies  until  the  problem  of  giving 
this  voice  to  employees,  and  giving  it  effectively,  is  solved.  It 
can  be  solved  in  but  one  way  :  that  is,  by  representation.  To 
solve  it  may  mean  industrial  peace. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  dispose  of  these  difficult  matters 
in  town-meeting.  Nevertheless,  the  town-meeting  must  be  at  the 
base  of  any  successful  plan  for  disposing  of  them.  The  end  in 
view  is  to  bring  the  employer — who  in  this  case  is  the  company, 
represented  by  its  president  and  board  of  directors — and  the  em- 
ployees into  direct  and  immediate  contact  through  a  representa- 
tive system.  When  thus  brought  into  direct  and  immediate  con- 
tact, the  parties  must  arrive  at  results  through  the  usual  method : 
that  is,  by  discussion  and  rational  agreement.  It  has  already  been 
noticed  that  the  operating  department  of  a  great  railroad  company 
naturally  subdivides  itself  into  those  concerned  in  the  train  move- 
ment, those  concerned  in  the  care  of  the  permanent  way,  and  those 
concerned  in  the  work  of  the  mechanical  department.  It  would 
seem  proper,  therefore,  that  a  council  of  employees  should  be 
formed,  of  such  a  number  as  might  be  agreed  on,  containing  rep- 
resentatives from  each  of  these  departments.  In  order  to  make 
an  effective  representation,  the  council  would  have  to  be  a  large 
body.  For  present  purposes,  and  for  the  sake  of  illustration 
merely,  it  might  be  supposed  that,  in  the  case  of  the  Union  Pacific, 
each  department  in  a  division  of  the  road  would  elect  its  own 
members  of  the  employees'  council.  There  are  five  of  these  di- 
visions and  three  departments  in  every  division.  The  operating- 
men,  the  yard  and  section-men,  and  the  machinists  of  the  division 
would,  therefore,  under  this  arrangement  choose  a  given  number 
of  representatives.  If  one  such  representative  was  chosen  to  each 
hundred  employees  in  the  permanent  service  those  thus  selected 
would  constitute  a  division  council.  To  perfect  the  organization, 
without  disturbing  the  necessary  work  of  the  company,  each  of 
these  division  councils  would  then  select  certain  (say,  for  example, 
three)  of  their  number,  representing  the  mechanical,  the  operating. 


EMPLOYEES   TO   BE   REPRESENTED.  38 1 

and  the  permanent  way  departments,  and  these  delegates  from 
each  of  the  departments  would,  at  certain  periods  of  the  year,  to 
be  provided  for  by  the  articles  of  organization,  all  meet  together 
at  the  head-quarters  of  the  company  in  Omaha.  The  central 
council,  under  the  system  here  suggested,  would  consist  of  fifteen 
men  ;  that  is,  one  representing  each  of  the  three  departments  of 
the  five  several  divisions.  These  fifteen  men  would  represent  the 
employees.  It  would  be  for  them  to  select  a  board  of  delegates, 
or  small  executive  committee,  to  confer  directly  with  the  president 
and  board  of  directors.  Here  would  be  found  the  organization 
through  which  the  voice  of  the  employees  would  make  itself  heard 
and  felt  in  matters  which  directly  affect  the  rights  of  employees, 
including  the  appointment  of  a  tribunal  to  pass  upon  cases  of  mis- 
demeanor, and  the  management  of  all  institutions,  whether  finan- 
cial or  educational,  to  which  the  employees  had  contributed  and 
in  which  they  had  a  consequent  interest. 

There  is  no  reason  whatever  for  supposing  that,  within  the 
limits  which  have  been  indicated,  such  an  organization  would  lead 
to  difficulty.  On  the  contrary,  where  it  did  not  remove  a  difficulty 
it  might  readily  be  made  to  open  a  way  out  of  it.  The  employees, 
feeling  that  they  too  had  rights  which  the  company  frankly 
recognized  and  was  bound  to  respect,  would  in  all  cases  of  agita- 
tion proceed  through  the  regular  machinery,  which  brought  them 
into  easy  and  direct  contact  with  the  highest  authority  in  the 
company's  service.  They  would  not,  therefore,  be  driven  into  out- 
side organizations.  Meanwhile,  on  the  other  hand,  the  highest 
officers  of  the  company,  including  the  president  and  the  board  of 
directors,  would  be  brought  into  immediate  relations  with  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  employees  on  terms  of  equality.  Each  would 
have  an  equal  voice  in  the  management  of  common  interests  ;  and 
it  would  only  remain  to  make  provision  for  arriving  at  a  solution 
of  questions  in  case  of  deadlock.  This  would  naturally  be  done 
by  the  appointment  of  a  permanent  arbitrator,  who  would  be 
selected  in  advance. 

The  organization  suggested  includes,  it  will  be  remembered, 
only  those  employees  whose  names  are  on  the  permanent  rolls  of 
the  operating  department.  For  reasons  which  have  been  suffi- 
ciently referred  to,  those  whose  names  are  on  the  rolls  of  the  other 


382  THE   PREVENTION  OF  RAILWAY  STRIKES. 

four  departments  have  not  been  considered.  But  there  would  be 
no  difficulty  in  making  provision  for  them  also,  should  it  be  found 
expedient  or  desirable  so  to  do.  Through  the  system  of  represen- 
tation the  organization  could  in  fact  be  made  to  include  every 
employee  in  the  permanent  service  of  the  company,  not  excepting 
the  president,  the  general  manager,  or  the  general  counsel.  Each 
employee  included  would  have  one  vote,  and  each  division  and 
department  its  representatives.  The  organization  in  other  words 
is  elastic.  No  matter  how  large  it  might  be  it  would  never  become 
unwieldy  so  long  as  it  resulted  in  the  small  committee  which  met 
in  direct  conference  face  to  face  with  the  board  of  directors. 

Could  such  a  system  as  that  which  has  been  suggested  be 
devised  and  put  in  practical  operation  there  is  reason  to  hope  that 
the  difficulties  which  have  hitherto  occurred  between  the  great 
railroad  companies  and  those  in  their  pay  would  not  occur  in  future. 
The  movement  is  the  natural  and  necessary  outcome  of  the  vast 
development  referred  to  in  the  opening  paragraphs  of  this  paper. 
It  is  based  on  a  simple  recognition  of  acknowledged  facts,  and  fol- 
lows the  lines  of  action  with  which  the  people  of  this  country  are 
most  familiar.  The  path  indicated  is  that  in  which  for  centuries 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  tread.  It  has  led  them  out  of  many 
difficulties.     Why  not  out  of  this  difficulty? 


THE  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

By  B.   B.  ADAMS,  Jr. 

The  Typical  Railroad  Man— On  the  Road  and  at  Home— Raising  the  Moral  Standard- 
Characteristics  of  the  Freight  Brakeman — His  Wit  the  Result  of  Meditation — How 
Slang  is  Originated — Agreeable  Features  of  his  Life  in  Fine  Weather — Hardships 
in  Winter— The  Perils  of  Hand-brakes— Broken  Trains — Going  back  to  Flag — 
Coupling  Accidents— At  the  Spring— Advantages  of  a  Passenger  Brakeman— 
Trials  of  the  Freight  Conductor— The  Investigation  of  Accidents— Irregular  Hours 
of  Work— The  Locomotive  Engineer  the  Hero  of  the  Rail— His  Rare  Qualities— 
The  Value  of  Quick  Judgment— Calm  Fidelity  a  Necessary  Trait— Saving  Fuel  on  a 
Freight  Engine — Making  Time  on  a  Passenger  Engine — Remarkable  Runs— The 
Spirit  of  Fraternity  among  Engineers— Difficult  Duties  of  a  Passenger-train  Con- 
ductor—Tact in  Dealing  with  Many  People— Questions  to  be  Answered— How 
Rough  Characters  are  Dealt  with — Heavy  Responsibilities— The  Work  of  a  Station 
Agent— Flirtation  by  Telegraph— The  Baggage-master's  Hard  Task— Eternal  Vigi- 
lance Necessary  in  a  Switch-tender — Section-men,  Train  Despatchers,  Firemen, 
and  Clerks— Efforts  to  Make  the  Railroad  Man's  Life  Easier. 

jHE  typical  railroad  man  "runs  on  the  road;  "  he 
is  not  the  one  whose  urbane  presence  adorns  the 
much-heralded  offices  of  the  railroad  companies  on 
Broadway,  where  the  gold  letters  on  the  front  win- 
dow are  each  considerably  larger  than  the  elbow- 
room  allowed  the  clerks  inside  ;  nor,  indeed,  is  he, 
generally  speaking,  the  one  with  whom  the  public  or 
the  public's  drayman  comes  in  contact  when  visiting 
a  large  city  station  to  ship  or  receive  freight.  These  and  others, 
whose  part  in  the  complex  machinery  of  transportation  is  in  a  de- 
gree auxiliary,  are  indeed  largely  imbued  with  the  esprit  de  corps 
which  originates  in  the  main  body  of  workers  ;  but  their  duties  are 
such  that  their  interest  is  not  especially  lively.  Even  the  men 
employed  at  stations  in  villages  and  large  towns  acquire  a  share 
of  their  railroad  spirit  at  second  hand,  as  life  on  a  train  is  neces- 
sary to  get  the  experience  which  embodies  the  true  fascination 
which  so  charms  Young  America. 


384  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 

The  railroad  man's  home-life  is  not  specially  different  from 
other  people's.  There  have  been  Chesterfields  among  conduc- 
tors, and  mechanical  geniuses  have  grown  up  among  the  locomo- 
tive engineers,  but  these  were  products  of  an  era  now  past.  Sta- 
tion-men are  a  part  of  the  communities  where  their  duties  place 
them.  Trainmen  and  their  families  occupy  a  modest  though 
highly  respectable  place  in  the  society  they  live  in.  Trainmen 
who  live  in  a  city  generally  receive  the  same  pay  that  is  given  to 
their  brothers,  doing  the  same  work,  whose  homes  are  in  the 
country.  The  families  of  the  latter  therefore  enjoy  purer  air,  les- 
sened expenses,  and  other  advantages  which  are  denied  the 
former. 

On  most  railroads  the  freight  trainmen — engineers,  conduc- 
tors, brakemen,  and  firemen — are  the  most  numerous  and  promi- 
nent class,  as  the  number  of  freight  trains  is  generally  larger  than 
that  of  passenger  trains  ;  and  among  these  men  there  are  more 
brakemen  than  anything  else,  because  there  are  two  or  more  on 
every  train,  while  there  is  but  one  of  each  of  the  other  classes. 
And  as  the  ranks  of  the  passenger-train  service  are  generally  re- 
cruited from  the  freight  trainmen,  it  follows  that  the  freight  brake- 
7nari  impresses  his  individuality  quite  strongly  upon  not  only  the 
circles  in  which  he  moves  but  the  whole  train-service  as  well. 
Freight  conductors  are  promoted  brakemen,  and  most  (though 
not  by  any  means  all)  passenger  conductors  are  promoted  freight 
conductors  ;  so  that  the  brakeman's  prominent  traits  of  character 
continue  to  appear  throughout  the  several  grades  of  the  service. 
As  he  is  promoted  he  of  course  improves.  The  general  character 
of  the  persoiutel  of  the  freight-train  service  has  undergone  a  con- 
siderable change  in  the  last  twenty  years.  Whiskey  drinkers  have 
been  weeded  out,  and  pilferers  with  them.  Improved  discipline 
has  effected  a  general  toning  up,  raising  the  moral  standard  per- 
ceptibly. One  reforming  superintendent,  a  few  years  ago,  on  un- 
dertaking an  aggressive  campaign  found  himself  compelled  to  dis- 
charge three-fifths  of  all  his  brakemen  before  he  could  regard  the 
force  as  reasonably  cleared  of  the  rowdy  element. 

The  brakeman,  like  the  "  drummer,"  is  a  characteristic  Ameri- 
can product.     Each  has  his   wits   sharpened   by  peculiar  experi- 


THE   BRAKEMAN'S  INFLUENCE.  385 

ences,  and,  while  important  lines  of  intellectual  training  are  almost 
wholly  neg-lected,  there  is  contact  with  the  world  in  various  direc- 
tions, which  develops  qualities  that  tend  to  elevate  the  individual 
in  many  ways.  Although  freight  brakemen  do  not  have  any  in- 
tercourse with  the  public,  they  somehow  learn  the  ways  of  the 
world  very  quickly,  and  the  brightest  ones  among  them  need  very 
little  training*'to  fit  them  for  a  place  on  a  passenger  train  where 
they  are  expected  to  deal  with  gentle  ladies  and  fastidious  mill- 
ionaires, and  bear  themselves  with  the  grace  of  a  hotel  clerk. 
Perhaps  one  reason  why  brakemen  impress  their  characteristics 
on  the  whole  personnel  of  the  service  is  because  they  have  abun- 
dance of  opportunity  for  meditation.  Many  of  them  have  a  super- 
fluity of  hours  and  half-hours  when  they  have  nothing  to  do  but 
ride  on  the  top  of  a  car  and  keep  a  general  watch  of  the  train,  and 
they  have  ample  time  to  think  twice  before  speaking  once.  Even 
a  circus  clown  or  the  vender. of  shoestrings  or  ten-cent  watches 
has  to  study  the  arts  of  expression  ;  why  should  not  the  intelligent 
trainman,  who  wishes  to  let  people  know  that  he  is  of  some  ac- 
count in  the  world  ?  If  he  wants  a  favor  from  a  superior  he  knows 
just  the  best  way  of  approach  to  secure  success.  If  he  deems  it 
worth  while  to  complain  of  anything,  he  formulates  his  appeal  in  a 
way  that  is  sure  to  be  telling.  Everyone  knows  the  old  story  of 
the  brakeman  who  was  refused  a  free  pass  home  on  Saturday 
night  with  the  argument  that  his  employer,  if  a  farmer,  could  not 
be  reasonably  expected  to  hitch  up  a  horse  and  buggy  for  such  a 
purpose.  The  reply  that,  admitting  this,  the  farmer  who  had  his 
team  already  harnessed  up  and  was  going  that  way  with  an  empty 
seat  would  be  outrageously  mean  to  refuse  his  hired  man  a  ride, 
is  none  too  'cute  to  be  characteristic.  The  brakeman  who  is  not 
able  to  puncture  the  sophistries  of  narrow-souled  or  disingenuous 
superiors  is  the  exception  and  not  the  rule. 

The  brakeman  gives  the  prevailing  tone  to  the  "society"  of 
despatchers'  lobbies  and  other  lounging  places  which  he  frequents. 
If  he  be  profane  or  fault-finding  or  sour,  he  can  easily  spread  the 
influence  of  these  unpleasant  traits.  A  lazy  brakeman  becomes 
more  lazy,  because  his  work  is  in  many  respects  easy.  Having 
little  to  do  he  demands  still  less.  A  foul-mouthed  one  gives  him- 
self free  rein  because  many  usual  restraints  are  absent.  The 
25 


7,86 


THE   E VERY-DAY  LIEE    OE  RAILROAD   MEN. 


prevalence  of  profanity,  which,  aside  from  the  question  of  sinful- 
ness, hampers  a  man  in  any  aspirations  he  may  have  toward  more 
elevating  society,  is  perhaps  the  worst  blot  on  the  reputation  of 
brakemen  as  a  class.  Many  worthy  men  among  them,  and  espe- 
cially among  conductors  and  engineers,  have,  however,  done  much 
to  improve  the  tone  of  conversation  in  trainmen's  haunts,  and  on 
the  better  disciplined  roads  decorum  is  the  rule,  and  rowdyism  the 
exception.  There  is  abundance  of  humor  and  spirit,  however.  The 
brakeman  originates  whatever  slang  may  be  deemed  necessary  to 
give  spice  to  the  talk  of  the  caboose  and  round-house.  He  calls  a 
gravel  train  a  "  dust  express,"  and  refers  to  the  pump  for  compress- 
ing air  for  the  power-brakes  as  a  "  wind-jammer."  The  fireman's 
prosaic  labors  are  lightened  by  being  poetically  mentioned  as  the 
"  handling  of  black  diamonds,"  and  the  mortification  of  being  called 
into  the  superintendent's  office  to  explain  some  dereliction  of  duty 
is  disguised  by  referring  to  the  episode  as  "  dancing  on  the  carpet." 
The  disagreeable  features  of  a  freight  brakeman's  life  are  chiefly 

those  dependent  upon 
the  weather.  If  he 
could  perform  his  du- 
ties in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia or  Florida  in 
winter,  and  in  the 
Northern  States  in 
summer,  his  lot  would 
ordinarily  be  a  happy 
one,  though  the  an- 
noyance of  tramps  is 
almost  universal  in 
mild  climates,  and  in 
many  cases  takes  the 
shape  of  positive  dan- 
ger. These  vaofa- 
bonds  persist  in  riding 
on  or  in  the  cars,  while 
the  faithful  trainman 
must,  according  to  his  instructions,  keep  them  off.  In  some  sections 
of  the  country  they  will  board  a  train  in  gangs  of  a  dozen,  armed 


'  Dancing  on  the  Carpet.' 


HARDSHIPS    OF   TRAINMEN  IN    WINTER. 


3^7 


Trainman  and   Tiampo. 

with  pistols,  and  dictate  where  a  train  shall  carry  them.  Not  long 
ago  in  Chicago  a  conductor,  while  ejecting  a  tramp  from  the  ca- 
boose, was  shot  and  killed  by  the  ruffian. 

The  hardships  of  cold  and  stormy  weather  are  serious,  both  be- 
cause of  the  test  of  endurance  involved  and  the  added  difficulties  in 
handling  a  train.  The  WestinMiouse  automatic  air-brake,  which 
has  served  so  admirably  on  passenger  trains  for  the  past  fifteen 
years,  has  only  recently  been  adapted  and  cheapened  so  as  to  make 
it  available  for  long  freight  trains,  but  it  is  now  so  perfected  that 
in  a  few  years  the  brakeman  who  now  has  to  ride  on  the  outside  of 
cars  in  a  freezing  condition  for  an  hour  at  a  time  will  be  privileged 
to  sit  comfortably  in  his  caboose  while  the  speed  of  the  train  is 
governed  by  the  engineer  through  the  instantaneous  action  of  the 


388  THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

air-brake.      On  the  steep  roads  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,   and  a 
few  other  Hnes,  this  brake  is  already  in  use. 

But  "  braking  by  hand  "  is  still  the  rule.  In  running  on  as- 
cending grades  or  at  slow  speeds,  the  brakemen  can  ride  under 
cover,  but  in  descending  grades,  or  on  levels  when  the  speed  is 
high,  they  must  be  on  the  tops  of  the  cars  ready  to  instantly  apply 
the  brakes,  for  the  reason  that  there  are  generally  only  three  or 
four  men  to  a  long  train  weighing  from  500  to  1,000  tons,  whose 
momentum  cannot  be  arrested  very  quickly.  In  descending  steep 
grades,  only  the  most  constant  and  skilful  care  prevents  the  train 
from  rushing  at  breakneck  speed  to  the  foot  of  the  incline,  or  to  a 
curve,  where  it  would  be  precipitated  over  an  embankment  and 
crushed  into  splinters.  One  of  the  mountain  roads  in  Colorado 
which  now  uses  air-brakes  is  said  to  be  lined  its  whole  length  with 
the  ruins  of  cars  lying  in  the  gorges,  where  they  were  wrecked  in 
the  former  days  of  hand-brakes.  Even  on  grades  much  less  steep 
than  those  in  Colorado  the  danger  of  this  sort  of  disaster  is  one 
that  has  to  be  constantly  guarded  against.  Take  the  case  of  a 
40-car  train  descending  a  \\  per  cent,  grade  (79y%  feet  per  mile). 
Before  all  of  the  cars  have  passed  over  the  summit  and  commenced 
to  descend,  the  forward  part  of  the  train  will  have  increased  its  ve- 
locity very  perceptibly  and  will  thus  by  its  weight  exert  a  strong 
pull  on  the  rear  portion,  "yanking"  it  very  roughly  sometimes,  and 
if  one  of  the  couplings  between  the  cars  chances  to  be  weak  it 
breaks,  separating  the  train  into  two  parts.  Mishaps  of  this  kind 
are  frequent,  and  two  or  more  breakages  often  occur  at  the  same 
time,  dividing  the  train  so  that  one  of  the  parts — between  the  two 
end  portions — is  perhaps  left  with  no  brakeman  upon  it.  The 
engineman  then  has  the  choice  of  slackening  his  speed  and  allow- 
ing the  unmanageable  cars  to  violently  collide  with  his  portion,  or 
of  increasing  his  own  speed  to  such  a  rate  that  he  is  soon  in  danger 
of  suddenly  overtaking  a  train  ahead  of  him.  To  avoid  this  break- 
ing-in-two  the  brakemen  must  be  wide  awake  on  the  instant  and 
see  that  their  brakes  are  tightened  before  the  speed  even  begins 
to  elude  control.  As  soon  as  the  whole  train  has  got  beyond  the 
summit,  and  the  speed  is  reduced  to  a  proper  rate  by  the  applica- 
tion of  the  brakes  on,  say,  one-third  or  one-half  the  cars,  it  will 
perhaps  be  found  that  one  or  two  brakes  too  many  have  been  put 


BRAKEMEN  IN  A   STORM. 


389 


Braking  in  Hard  Weather. 


•^^ 


on  and  that  the  train  is  run-  "^         #^ 

ning-  too  slowly.    Some  of  them  must 

then  be  loosened.  Or  perhaps  some  are  set  so  tightly  that  the 
friction  heats  the  wheels  unduly  or  causes  them  to  slide  along  the 
track  instead  of  rolling ;  then  those  brakes  must  be  released  and 
some  on  other  cars  applied  instead  ;  and  all  this  must  be  done 
(sometimes  for  an  hour)  when  the  temperature  is  20  degrees  below 
zero,  or  the  wind  is  blowing  a  gale,  just  as  under  more  favorable 


390  THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

circumstances.  A  train  moving  at  20  miles  an  hour  against  a  wind 
with  a  velocity  of  30  miles  increases  the  latter  to  50,  so  far  as  the 
brakeman  is  concerned  ;  and  if  rain  or  sleet  is  falling,  the  force  of 
it  on  his  hands  and  face  is  very  severe.  If  we  add  to  this  the  dan- 
ger attendant  upon  stepping  from  one  car  to  another  over  a  gap  of 
27  to  30  inches,  in  a  dark  night,  when  the  cars  are  constantly  mov- 
ing up  and  down  on  their  springs  and  are  swaying  to  one  side  or 
the  other  every  few  seconds,  we  get  some  idea  of,  though  we  can- 
not realize,  the  sensations  that  must  at  such  times  fill  the  minds  of 
the  men  whose  pleasant  berth  seems  so  enjoyable  on  a  mild  sum- 
mer's day.  And  this  is  not  an  overdrawn  picture  or  the  worst  that 
might  be  given  ;  for  rain  and  snow  combined  often  coat  the  roofs 
of  cars  so  completely  and  solidly  that  they  are  worse  than  the 
smoothest  skating-pond,  and  moving  upon  them  is  attended  with 
danger  at  every  step.  Jumping — it  cannot  be  called  walking — from 
one  car  to  another  is  in  such  cases  positively  reckless.  The  brake- 
apparatus  will  in  a  snow-storm  be  coated  with  ice  so  rapidly  that 
vigorous  action  is  required  to  keep  it  in  working  condition.  Even 
a  wind  alone,  in  dry  weather,  sometimes  compels  the  men  to  crawl 
from  one  car  to  another,  grasping  such  projections  as  they  may. 
The  brakeman  who  forgets  to  take  his  rubber  coat  and  overalls 
sometimes  suffers  severely  from  sudden  changes  of  temperature. 
In  spring  or  fall  a  lively  shower  will  be  encountered  in  a  sheltered 
valley,  and  the  clothing  be  completely  drenched,  and  then  within 
perhaps  half  an  hour  the  ascent  of  a  few  hundred  feet  brings  the 
train  into  an  atmosphere  a  few  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  so 
that  with  the  aid  of  the  wind,  fanned  by  the  speed  of  the  train,  the 
clothes  are  very  soon  frozen  stiff. 

Another  feature  which  often  involves  discomfort,  and  occasion- 
ally positive  suffering  and  danger,  is  "  going  back  to  flag."  When 
a  train  is  unexpectedly  stopped  upon  the  road,  the  brakeman  at 
the  rear  end  must  immediately  take  his  red  flag  or  lantern  and  go 
back  a  half-mile  or  more  to  give  the  "  stop  "  signal  to  the  engine- 
men  of  any  train  that  may  be  following.  This  rule  is  sometimes 
disregarded  in  clear  weather  on  straight  lines,  and  is  even  evaded 
by  lazy  or  unfaithful  brakemen  where  the  neglect  is  positively  dan- 
gerous, but  still  many  a  faithful  man  has  to  go  out  and  stand  for  a 
long  time  in  a  severe  snow-storm  or  risk  his  life  in  walking  several 


GOING   BACK    rO   FLAG. 


!9i 


miles  to  a  station.     The  record  of  ind,v,dual  pen  s  and  hero  sm. 

in  the  New  York  blizzard  of  March,  .888,  are  paralleled,  or  at  least 

epeated,  on  a  slightly  milder   scale,  by  brakemen   every  wmter. 


Flagging  in  Winter. 


Even  in  the  ^^^^^t^T^^  ^^^^ 
rs:;;i:ro"trt!n''af:nr.;cted  puce  -.-Ives  danger  o.- 
coUis  oLif  t1.e  brakeman  does  not  at  once  go  back  and  ..t^ryiacL 
A  tai  end  "  brakeman  has  various  anxieties,  which  cannot  be  de- 
faiJir    Often  there  is  ^jf^^^^t'^;::):^- 


392 


2'HE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN: 


his  train  to  look  out  for  itself,  because  of  a  visit  from  a  huge  bear 
whose  residence  was  in  the  woods  near  the  point  on  the  railroad 
where    the    brakeman 
was  keeping-  his  lonely 
niofht-viofil. 

The  danger  of  sud- 
den accidental  death 
or  maiming  is  constant 


Coupling. 


and  great,  and  the 
bare  record  of  the  nu- 
merous cases  is  acute- 
ly suggestive  of  in- 
expressible suffering  ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  it 
does  not  worry  the 
average  brakeman 
much.  Though  probably  a  thousand  trainmen  are  killed  in  this 
country  every  year,  and  four  or  five  thousand  injured,  by  collisions 
and  derailments,  in  coupling  cars,  falling  off  trains,  striking  low 
overhead  bridges,  and  from  other  causes,  no  one  brakeman,  from 
what  he  sees  in  his  own  experience,  realizes  the  danger  very  viv- 
idly. As  in  other  dangers  which  are  constant  but  inevitable,  famil- 
iarity breeds  carelessness  which  is  closely  akin  to  contempt.  Fall- 
ing from  trains  is  really  a  serious  danger,  because  the  most 
ceaseless  caution — next  to  impossible  for  the  average  man  to 
maintain — is  necessary  to  avoid  missteps.  This  will  be  practically 
abolished  when  the  long-wished-for  air-brake  oomes  into  use,  as 
that  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  riding  on  the  tops  of  the  cars. 

Coupling  accidents  are  practically  unavoidable  because,  al- 
though the  necessary  manipulations  can  be  made  without  going 
between  the  cars  or  placing  the  hands  in  dangerous  situations,  the 
men  as  a  general  thing  prefer  to  take  the  risk  of  the  more  dan- 
gerous method.  With  the  ordinary  freight-car  apparatus  (which, 
however,  is  destined  to  be  superseded  by  an  automatic  coupler) 
the  link  by  which  the  cars  are  connected  is  retained  by  a  pin  in 
the  drawbar  of  either  car  ;  as  one  car  approaches  another  at  con- 
siderable speed,  this  link,  which  hangs  loosely  down  at  an  angle  of 
thirty  degrees,  must  be  lifted  and  guided  into  the  opening  in  the 


ACCIDENTS  IN  COUPLING.  393 

Opposite  drawbar.  This  operation  must,  according  to  the  regula- 
tions of  most  roads,  be  performed  by  the  aid  of  a  short  stick  ;  but, 
disregarding  the  regulation,  partly  to  save  time  and  partly  be- 
cause of  fear  of  the  ridicule  that  would  be  called  out  by  the  exhibi- 
tion of  a  lack  of  dexterity,  the  average  brakeman  uses  his  fingers. 
He  must  lift  the  link  and  hold  it  horizontally  until  the  end  enters 
the  opening,  and  then  withdraw  his  hand  before  the  heavy  draw- 
bars come  together.  A  delay  of  a  fraction  of  a  second  would 
crush  the  hand  or  finger  as  under  a  trip-hammer.  And,  in  point 
of  fact,  this  delay  does,  for  various  reasons,  frequently  happen,  and 
the  number  of  trainmen  with  wounded  hands  to  be  found  in  every 
large  freight-yard  is  sad  evidence  of  the  fact.  But  again,  assum- 
ing that  this  part  of  the  operation  is  accomplished  in  safety,  there 
is  another  and  worse  danger  in  the  possibility  of  being  crushed 
bodily.  Cars  are  built  with  projecting  timbers  on  their  ends  at  or 
near  the  centre,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  main  bod)^  of  each 
car  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  from  its  neighbor ;  but  cars  of  dissimi- 
lar pattern  sometimes  meet  in  such  a  way  that  the  projections  on 
one  lap  past  those  on  the  other,  and  the  space  which  should  afford 
room  for  the  man  to  stand  in  safety  is  not  maintained.  If  the 
brakeman,  in  the  darkness  of  night  or  the  hurry  of  his  work,  fails 
to  note  the  peculiarities  of  the  cars,  he  is  mercilessly  crushed,  the 
ponderous  vehicles  often  banging  together  with  a  force  of  many 
tons.  A  constant  danger  in  coupling  and  uncoupling  is  the  liabil- 
ity to  catch  the  feet  in  angles  in  the  track."^  Freight  conductors 
are  peculiarly  liable  to  this,  as  the  duty  of  uncoupling  (pulling  out 
the  coupling-pin)  generally  devolves  upon  them,  and  must  be 
done  while  the  train  is  in  motion.  Walking  rapidly  along,  in  the 
dark,  with  the  right  hand  holding  a  lantern  and  grasping  the  car, 
while  the  left  is  tugging  at  a  pin  which  sticks,  involves  perplexi- 
ties wherein  a  moment's  hesitation  may  prove  fatal. 

The  dangers  here  recounted  are  those  which  only  brakemen 
(or  those  acting  as  brakemen)  have  to  meet.  The  liability  of  all 
trainmen  to  be  killed  by  the  cars  tumbling  down  a  bank,  colliding 
with  another  train,  and  a  hundred  other  conditions,  is  also  consid- 
erable. The  horror  which  the  public  feels  on  the  occurrence  of 
such  a  disaster  as  that  at  Chatsworth,  111.,  in  the  summer  of  1887, 

*  See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  222. 


394  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 

or  the  half-dozen  other  terrible  ones  within  the  past  few  years, 
could  reasonably  be  repeated  every  month  if  railroad  employees 
instead  of  passengers  were  considered.  There  are  no  accurate 
official  statistics  kept  of  the  train  accidents  in  the  country,  but  the 
accounts  compiled  monthly  by  the  Railroad  Gazette  always  show 
a  laro-e  number  of  casualties  to  railroad  men  from  causes  beyond 
their  own  control  (collisions,  runninor  off  the  track,  etc.),  no  men- 
tion being  made  of  the  larger  number  resulting  from  the  victims' 
own  want  of  caution.  In  the  month  of  March,  1887,  in  which 
occurred  the  terrible  Bussey  Bridge  disaster,  near  Boston,  25  pas- 
sengers were  killed  in  the  United  States  ;  but  the  same  month 
recorded  34  employees  killed.  At  Chatsworth  80  passengers  were 
killed  ;  but  in  that  and  the  following  month  the  number  of  em- 
ployees killed  in  the  country  reached  97.  In  both  of  these  com- 
parisons the  number  of  passengers  is  exceptional,  while  that  of 
employees  is  ordinary.  But,  as  already  intimated,  these  dangers 
and  discouragements  are  distributed  over  such  a  large  territory 
and  among  such  a  large  number  of  individuals  that  the  general 
serenity  of  the  brakeman's  life  is  not  much  disturbed  by  them.  In 
spite  of  them  all,  he  enjoys  his  work  and,  if  he  is  adapted  to  the 
calling,  he  sticks  to  it. 

The  brakeman  must  be  on  hand  promptly  at  the  hour  of  his 
train's  preparation  for  departure,  and  generally  he  must  do  his 
part  in  15,  30,  or  60  minutes'  lively  work  in  assembling  cars  from 
different  tracks,  changing  them  from  the  front  to  the  rear  or  mid- 
dle of  the  train,  and  setting  aside  those  that  are  broken  or  dis- 
abled ;  but,  once  on  the  road,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  his  time 
is  his  own,  for  his  own  enjoyment,  almost  as  fully  as  that  of  the  pas- 
senger who  travels  for  the  express  purpose  of  entertaining  himself. 
In  mild  weather  and  in  daylight,  life  on  the  top  of  a  freight  train  is 
almost  wholly  devoid  of  unpleasant  features,  and  it  takes  on  the 
nature  of  work  only  for  the  same  reason  that  any  routine  becomes 
more  or  less  irksome  after  a  time.  Much  of  the  time  there  are  a 
few  bushels  of  cinders  from  the  engine  flying  in  the  air,  which  a 
novice  can  get  into  his  eyes  with  great  facility,  but  the  brakeman 
gets  used  to  them.  He  sees  every  day  (on  many  roads)  the 
beauties  of  nature  in  great  variety.  Much  of  the  scenery  of  the 
adjoining  country  is  500  per  cent,  more  enjoyable  from  the  brake- 


EDUCATION  FROM  NATURE. 


395 


Tne   Pleasant  Part  of  a  Brakeman's  Life. 

man's  perch  on  the  roof  than  from  the  car  windows,  for  the  reason 
that  the  increased  height  gives  such  an  enlarged  horizon.  This 
education  from  nature  is  an  element  in  railroad  men's  lives  not  to 
be  despised.  The  trainman  whose  daily  trips  take  him  past  the 
panoramic  charms  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  in  summer,  through 


396  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

the  gorg-eous-hued  mountain-foliage  along  the  Erie  in  autumn,  or 
the  perennial  grandeur  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  Colorado,  cer- 
tainly enjoys  a  privilege  for  which  many  a  city  worker  would  gladly 
make  largfe  sacrifices.  But  to  trainmen  the  refininor  influence  of 
these  surrounding's  is  often  an  unconscious  influence,  and  with  the 
majority  of  them  is  perhaps  generally  so,  because  of  the  prosaic 
round  of  every-day  thoughts  filling  their  minds.  There  are  also 
some  other  advantages,  not  wholly  unaesthetic,  which  a  millionaire 
might  almost  envy  the  freight  trainman.  Every  twenty  miles  or 
so  the  engine  must  stop  for  water,  and  it  often  happens  that  this 
is  in  a  cool  place  where  the  men  can  at  the  same  time  refresh 
themselves  with  spring  water  whose  sparkling  purity  is  unknown 
in  New  York  or  Chicag-o.  Though  brakemen  who  love  beer  are 
not  by  any  means  scarce,  an  accessible  spring  or  well  of  pure  water 
along  the  line  always  finds  appreciative  users  during  warm  weather  ; 
and  the  Kentuckian  who  sojourned  six  months  in  Illinois  without 
thinking  to  try  the  water  there  is  not  represented  in  the  ranks  of 
level-headed  brakemen.  A  certain  railroad  president  regales  him- 
self in  summer  on  spring  water  brought  in  jugs  from  loo  miles 
up  the  road  by  trainmen  who  find  in  this  service  an  opportunity  to 
"make  themselves  solid"  at  headquarters.  Freight  trainmen  get 
all  the  delicious  products  of  the  soil  at  first  hands.  In  their  stops 
at  way-stations  they  get  acquainted  with  the  farmers,  and  can  make 
their  selection  of  the  best  things  at  low  prices,  thus  (if  they  keep 
house)  living  on  fruits,  vegetables,  etc.,  of  a  quality  fit  for  a  king. 

The  passenger-train  brakeman  differs  from  the  freight  train- 
man chiefly  in  the  fact  that  he  must  deal  with  the  public,  and  so 
must  have  a  care  for  his  personal  appearance  and  behavior,  and  in 
the  fact  that  he  is  not  a  brakeman,  the  universal  air-brake  reliev- 
ing him  of  all  work  in  this  line.  His  chief  duties  are  those  of  a 
porter,  though  the  wide-awake  American  brakeman,  with  an  eye 
to  future  promotion  to  a  conductorship,  maintains  his  dignity  and 
is  not  by  any  means  the  servile  call-boy  that  the  English  railway 
porter  is.  The  wearing  of  uniforms  has  been  introduced  here  from 
England  and  is,  in  the  main,  a  good  feature,  though  some  roads, 
whose  discipline  is  otherwise  quite  good,  allow  their  men  to  appear 
in  slovenly  and  even  ragged  clothes.     Superintendents  should  give 


THE    VALUE    OF    UNIFORMS. 


397 


more  care  to  this  matter,   as   it  is   not  an   unimportant  one.     It 
affects  the  men's  self-respect  and  influences  their  usefulness  in  other 
ways.    The  frugal  brakeman  can- 
not wear  his  blue  suit  on  Sunday  -^  i.     %•  ^^0. 
or  a-visiting,  and  his  Sunday                                     "^ 
suit  when   old    cannot                                            >    *  .^^ 

be  used  up   by  week-  ,^  ^^-     ^ 

day  wear,  so  he  nat-  -sj,  -    '^^^ 


urally  -concludes    that    his 

employer  is  guilty  of  a  little 

undue  severity  toward  him.     Brakemen  on  the  modern  "limited" 

trains   (a  three    hours'   run  without  a   stop  constituting    a    day's 

work)  have  in  some  respects  too  easy  a  task,  and  their  minds  are 

more  likely  to  rust  out  than  to  wear  out.     They  have  a  constant 

care,  to  be  sure,  and  sometimes  must  "go  back  to  flag,"  the  same 


398  THE   EVERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

as  a  freight  trainman,  but,  in  the  main,  their  berth  would  about  fill 
the  ideal  of  the  Irish  shoveller  who  confided  to  his  fellow-workman 
that  "  for  a  nice,  clane,  aisy  job  "  he  would  like  to  be  a  bishop. 

Brakemen  have  had  the  reputation  of  doing  a  good  deal  of 
flirting,  and  many  a  country-girl  has  found  a  worthy  husband 
amono-  them  ;  but  there  is  not  so  much  of  this  method  of  diversion 
as  formerly  ;  both  passenger  and  freight  men  now  have  to  attend 
more  strictly  to  business,  and  they  cannot  conveniently  indulge  in 
side  play.  There  are  still,  however,  enough  short  branch-lines 
and  slow-going  roads  in  backwoods  districts  to  insure  that  flirting 
shall  not  become  a  lost  art  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

The  freight  conductor  is  simply  a  high  grade  of  brakeman. 
His  work  is  almost  wholly  supervisory  and  clerical,  and  so,  after 
several  years'  service,  he  becomes  more  sober  and  business-like  in 
his  bearing,  the  responsibilities  of  his  position  being  sufficient  to 
effect  this  change  ;  but  he  generally  retains  his  sympathies  with  his 
old  associates  who  have  become  subordinates.  His  duties  are  to 
keep  the  record  of  the  train,  the  time,  numbers  of  cars,  etc. ;  to  see 
that  the  brakemen  regulate  the  speed  when  necessary,  and  to  keep 
a  creneral  watch.  The  calculations  necessary  to  make  a  75-mile 
trip  and  get  over  the  line  without  wasting  time  are  often  consider- 
able, and  an  inexperienced  conductor  can  easily  keep  himself  in  a 
worry  for  the  whole  trip.  Often  he  cannot  go  more  than  ten  miles 
after  making  way  for  a  passenger  train  before  another  overtakes 
him  ;  so  that  he  must  spend  a  good  share  of  his  time  sitting  in  his 
caboose  with  the  time-table  in  one  hand  and  his  watch  in  the  other, 
calculating  where  and  when  to  side-track  the  train.  On  single- 
track  roads  perplexities  of  this  kind  are  generally  more  numerous 
than  on  double  lines,  because  trains  both  in  front  and  behind  must 
be  guarded  against,  and  because  the  regulations  are  frequently 
modified  by  telegraphic  instructions  from  headquarters.  A  mistake 
in  reading  these  instructions,  which  are  written  in  pencil,  often  by 
a  slovenly  penman,  and  on  tissue-paper,  may,  and  occasionally  does, 
cause  a  disastrous  collision.  These  duties  of  conductors  are  espe- 
cially characteristic  of  trains  that  must  keep  out  of  the  way  of  pas- 
senger trains,  so  that  in  this  particular  line  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  passenger  conductor  has  much  the  easier  berth.  The  freight 
and  "  work-train"  conductor  must  really  be  a  better  calculator,  in 


IRREGULAR   HOURS   OF    WORK.  399 

many  ways,  than  the  wearer  of  gilt  badges  and  buttons,  though  the 
latter  receives  the  higher  pay. 

The  bete  noire  of  the  freio-ht  conductor  is  an  investigation  at 
headquarters  concerning  delinquencies  in  which  the  blame  is  di- 
vided. A  typical  case  of  this  kind  is  that  of  a  freight  train  which 
has  stopped  at  some  unusual  place  and  been  run  into  by  a  following 
train,  doing  some  hundreds  of  dollars  damage,  if  not  killing  or  in- 
juring persons.  "  Strict  adherence  to  rules  will  avert  all  such 
accidents,"  the  code  says  ;  but  they  do  happen,  and  the  inquiry  as 
to  whether  the  conductor  used  due  diliofence  in  sending  a  man  with 
a  red  flagf  to  warn  the  oncominof  train,  or  the  eno-ineer  of  the 
latter  was  heedless,  or  what  was  the  trouble,  is  the  occasion  of 
much  anxiety. 

Conductors,  concerning  whose  life  I  have  only  noted  a  few  of 
the  duties  and  perplexities,  are  not  so  much  subject  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  cold  and  wet  weather,  and  therefore  have  in  many  re- 
spects better  opportunities  than  the  brakemen  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  enjoyments  of  a  trainman's  life.  The  risk  to  life  and  limb 
from  coupling  cars,  etc.,  is  also  somewhat  less,  though  many  a 
faithful  conductor  has  lost  his  life  in  the  performance  of  a  danger- 
ous duty  which  he  had  assumed  out  of  generous  consideration  for 
an  inexperienced  or  overworked  subordinate.  The  beneficial  in- 
fluences on  health,  mind,  and  morals  coming  from  contact  with  nat- 
ure are,  as  before  remarked,  largely  unconscious  influences,  be- 
cause of  the  counteracting  effect  of  the  immediate  surroundinofs. 
The  irreeular  hours  are  unfavorable  to  health.  The  crews  run  in 
turn  ;  if  there  are  forty  crews  and  forty  trains  daily,  each  crew  will 
start  out  at  about  the  same  hour  each  day.  But  if  on  Monday 
there  are  forty  trains,  on  Tuesday  thirty,  and  on  Wednesday  fifty, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  starting  time  must  be  very  irregular.  Ten 
of  the  crews  which  worked  on  Monday  will  have  nothing  to  do  on 
Tuesday,  but  on  Wednesday  or  Thursday  will  have  to  do  double 
service.  The  first  trip  will  be  all  in  the  daytime,  and  the  next  all 
in  the  night,  perhaps.  This  irregularity  is  constant,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell  on  Monday  morning  where  one  will  be  on  Wednes- 
day. All  the  week's  sleep  may  have  to  be  taken  in  the  daytime 
or  all  at  night.  There  may  be  five  days'  work  to  do  between 
Monday  morning   and  the   following  Monday  morning,  or  there 


400  THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

may  be  nine.  The  trainman  has  to  Hterally  board  in  his  "mam- 
moth" dinner-pail,  and  his  wife  or  boarding  mistress  knows  less 
about  his  whereabouts  than  if  he  were  on  an  Arctic  whaling  vessel. 

The  locomotive  engineer  is  the  popular  "  hero  of  the  rail,"  and 
the  popular  estimate  in  this  respect  is  substantially  just.  Others 
have  to  brave  dangers  and  perform  duties  under  trying  circum- 
stances ;  but  the  engine-runner  has  to  ride  in  the  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  train,  take  charge  of  a  steam-boiler  that  may  explode 
and  blow  him  to  atoms,  and  of  machinery  that  may  break  and  kill 
him,  and  try  to  keep  up  a  vigilance  which  only  a  being  more  than 
human  could  successfully  maintain.  He  must  be  a  tolerably  skil- 
ful machinist — he  cannot  be  too  eood — and  have  nerves  that  will 
remain  steady  under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  If  running  a 
fast  express  through  midnight  darkness  over  a  line  where  a  sim- 
ilar train  has  been  tipped  off  a  precipice  (and  a  brother  runner 
killed)  by  train-wreckers  the  night  before,  he  must  dash  forward 
with  the  same  confidence  that  he  would  feel  in  broad  daylight  on 
an  open  prairie.  But  he  does  not  "  heroically  grasp  the  throttle  " 
in  the  face  of  danger,  when  the  throttle  has  been  already  shut, 
nor  does  he  "  whistle  down  brakes,"  in  order  to  add  a  stirring  ele- 
ment to  the  reporter's  tale,  when  by  the  magic  of  the  air-brake  he 
can,  with  a  turn  of  his  hand,  apply  every  brake  in  the  train  with 
the  grip  of  a  vise  in  less  time  than  it  would  take  him  to  reach  the 
whistle-pull.  When  there  is  danger  ahead  there  is  generally  just 
one  thing  to  do,  and  that  is  to  stop  as  soon  as  possible.  An  in- 
stant suffices  for  shutting  off  the  steam  and  applying  the  brake. 
With  modern  trains  this  is  all  that  is  necessary  or  can  be  done. 
Reversing  the  engine  is  necessary  on  many  engines,  and  formerly 
was  on  all ;  this  would,  in  fact,  be  done  instinctively  by  old  run- 
ners, in  any  case,  but  this  also  is  done  in  a  second.  After  taking 
these  measures  there  is  nothino-  for  the  eno-ineman  to  do  but  look 
out  for  his  own  safety.  In  some  circumstances,  as  in  the  case  of 
a  partially  burned  bridge  which  may  possibly  support  the  train 
even  in  a  weakened  condition,  it  may  be  best  to  put  on  all  steam. 
The  runner  is  then  in  a  dilemma,  and  a  right  decision  is  a  mat- 
ter of  momentary  inspiration.  Many  lives  have  been  saved  by 
quick-witted  runners   in  such  cases,   but  there   is   no  ground  for 


DANGERS   OF  AN  ENGINEER  'S  LIFE.  40 1 

censure  of  the  engineer  who,  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  de- 
cides to  slacken  instead  of  quicken  his  speed.  The  rare  cases  of 
this  kind  are  what  show  the  value  of  experience,  and  of  men  of 
the  right  temperament  and  degree  of  intelligence  to  acquire  ex- 
perience-lessons readily.  The  writer  recalls  an  instance  several 
years  ago  where  an  alert,  steady,  and  experienced  runner  found 
himself  on  the  crossing  of  another  railroad  with  a  heavy  train  rush- 
ing toward  him  on  the  transverse  track  at  uncontrollable  speed. 
It  was  too  late  to  retreat,  and  in  less  than  ten  seconds  the  oncom- 
ing train  would  crash  broadside  into  his  cars,  filled  with  passen- 
gers. A  frantic  effort  to  increase  the  speed  and  clear  the  crossing 
Avould  have  either  broken  the  weak  couplings  then  in  use  or 
would  have  simply  whirled  the  driving-wheels  with  such  excessive 
force  as  to  slacken  the  speed  of  the  train  rather  than  accelerate  it. 
In  point  of  fact,  the  rear  car  just  escaped  being  struck  by  the  pon- 
derous engine  bearing  down  upon  it  at  the  rate  of  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  a  second ;  and  the  preservation  of  the  lives  of  the  passengers 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  engineer  was  well-balanced,  quick  to 
act,  and  not  excitable.  What  did  he  do  ?  He  instantly  put  on 
more  steam,  but  with  unerring  judgment  opened  the  valve  just  far 
enouofh  and  no  more. 

But  the  terrible  cloud  constantly  hanging  over  the  engineer  and 
fireman  of  a  fast  train  is  the  chance  of  encountering  an  obstacle 
which  cannot  possibly  be  avoided,  and  which  leaves  them  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  jump  for  their  lives,  if,  indeed,  it  does  not  take  away  even 
that.  To  the  fact  that  this  cloud  is  no  larger  than  it  is,  and  that 
these  men  have  sturdy  and  courageous  natures,  must  be  attributed 
the  lightness  with  which  it  rests  upon  them.  On  one  road  or  an- 
other, from  a  washout,  or  inefficient  management,  or  a  collision 
caused  by  an  operator's  forgetfulness,  or  some  one  of  a  score  of 
other  causes,  there  are  constantly  occurring  cases  of  men  heroic- 
ally meeting  death  under  the  most  heart-rending  circumstances. 
Every  month  records  a  number  of  such,  though  happily  they  are 
not  frequent  on  any  one  road.  The  case  of  Engineer  Kennar,  a 
year  or  more  ago,  is  a  typical  one.  Precipitated  with  his  engine 
into  a  river  by  a  washout  which  the  roadmaster's  vigilance  had 
failed  to  discover,  his  first  thought,  as  zealous  hands  tried  to  res- 
cue him,  was  for  the  safety  of  his  train  ;  and,  forgetting  his  own 
26 


402  THE   E VERY-BAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

anguish,  he  warned  those  about  him  to  attend  first  to  the  sending 
of  a  red  lantern  to  warn  a  following  train  against  a  collision.  The 
significance  of  facts  like  this  is  not  so  much  in  the  service  to  hu- 
manity  done  at  the  time,  or  even  in  the  example  set  for  those  who 
shall  meet  such  crises  in  the  future,  but  rather  in  the  evidence  they 
give  of  the  firm  and  lofty  conscientiousness  that  inspires  the  every- 
day conduct  of  thousands  of  engineers  all  over  the  land.  As  has 
already  been  said,  the  critical  occasions  on  which  engineers  are 
supptosed  to  be  heroic  often  allow  them  no  chance  at  all  to  be 
either  heroic  or  cowardly,  and  their  heroism  must  be,  and  is,  man- 
ifested in  the  calm  fidelity  with  which  they,  day  after  day  and  year 
after  year,  perform  their  exacting  and  often  monotonous  round  of 
duties  while  all  the  time  knowing  of  the  possibilities  before  them. 

On  the  best  of  roads  a  freight  train  wrecked  by  a  broken  wheel 
under  a  borrowed  car  may  be  thrown  in  the  path  of  a  passenger 
train  on  another  track,  just  as  the  latter  approaches.  This  has 
happened  more  than  once  lately.  No  amount  of  fidelity  or  fore- 
thought (except  in  the  maker  of  the  wheels)  can  prevent  this  kind 
of  disaster.  There  is  constant  danger,  on  most  roads,  of  running 
off  the  track  at  misplaced  switches,  many  switches  being  located 
at  points  where  the  runner  can  see  them  only  a  few  seconds  before 
he  is  upon  them  ;  but  the  chance  is  so  small — perhaps  one  in  ten 
or  a  hundred  thousand — that  the  average  runner  forgets  it,  and  it 
is  only  by  severe  self-discipline  that  he  can  hold  himself  up  to  com- 
pliance with  the  rule  which  requires  him  to  be  on  the  watch  for 
every  switch-target  as  long  before  reaching  it  as  he  possibly  can. 
He  finds  the  switches  all  right  and  the  road  perfectly  clear  so  reg- 
ularly, day  after  day  and  month  after  month,  that  he  may  easily 
fall  into  the  snare  of  thinking  that  they  will  always  be  so.  But, 
like  other  trainmen,  the  engineman  finds  enough  more  agreeable 
thoughts  to  fill  his  mind,  and  reflects  upon  the  hazards  of  his  voca- 
tion perhaps  too  little. 

The  freight  engineman's  every-day  thoughts  are  largely  about 
the  care  of  his  engine  and  the  perplexities  incident  to  getting  out 
of  it  the  maximum  amount  of  work  with  the  minimum  amount  of 
fuel.  The  constant  aim  of  his  superiors  is  to  have  the  engine  draw 
every  pound  it  possibly  can.  To  haul  a  train  up  a  long  and  steep 
grade  when  the  cars  are  so  heavily  loaded  that  a  single  additional 


A    PASSENGER   RUNNER'S  CHIEF  AIM. 


403 


40^'- 


one  would  bring  the  whole  to  a  dead  stand-still  requires  a  knack 
that  can  be  appreciated  only  by  viewing  the  performance  on  the 

spot.  Failure  not  only  wastes 
time  and  fuel  (it  may  neces- 
sitate a  return  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill  or  oroino-  to 
the  top  with  only 
half  the  load),  but 
it  raises  a  suspi- 
cion that  some  oth- 
er runner  mieht 
have  succeeded 
better.  The  run- 
ner whose  eno-ine 
"  lays  down  on  the 
road"  (fails  to  draw 
its  load  because  of 
insufficient  fire  and 
consequent  low 
steam-pressure)  is 
liable  to  the  jeers  of  his  comrades  on  his  return  home,  if  not  to 
some  sharp  inquiries  from  his  superior. 

The  passenger  runner's  greatest  concern  is  to  "  make  time." 
Some  trains  are  scheduled  so  that  the  engineman  must  keep  his  lo- 
comotive up  to  its  very  highest  efficiency  over  every  furlong  of  its 
journey  in  order  to  arrive  at  his  destination  on  time.  A  little  care- 
lessness in  firing,  in  letting  cold  water  into  the  boiler  irregularly,  or 
in  slackening  more  than  is  necessary  where  the  right  to  the  track  is 
in  doubt  for  a  few  rods  ;  these  and  a  score  of  similar  circumstances 
may  make  five  minutes'  delay  in  the  arrival  at  the  terminus  and 
necessitate  an  embarrassinof  interview  with  the  trainmaster.  A 
trip  on  a  crowded  line  may  involve  watching  for  danger-signals 
every  quarter  of  a  mile  and  the  maintenance  of  such  high  speed 
that  they  must  be  obeyed  the  instant  they  are  espied  in  order  to 
avoid  the  possibility  of  collision.* 

*The  New  York  elevated  roads  run  3,500  trains  a  day,  each  one  passing  signals  (likely  to  indicate 
danger)  every  hundred  rods,  almost.  Who  can  expect  engineers  never  to  blunder  in  such  innumerable 
operations  ? 


Just  Time  to  Jump. 


404  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

The  passenger  runner  finds  himself  now  and  then  with  a  dis- 
abled engine  on  his  hands,  and  two  or  three  hundred  passengers 
standing  around  apparently  ready  to  eat  him  up  if  he  does  not 
remedy  the  difficulty  in  short  order.  Often  in  such  cases  he  is  in 
doubt  himself  whether  the  repairs  necessary  to  enable  his  engine 
to  proceed  will  occupy  fifteen  minutes  or  an  hour.  This,  with 
the  knotty  question  of  where  the  nearest  relief  engine  is,  causes 
the  brow  to  knit  and  the  sweat  to  start,  and  to  the  young  runner 
proves  an  experience  which  he  long  remembers. 

Stories  of  fast  running  are  common  but  unreliable  ;  and  when 
truthful,  important  considerations  are  often  omitted.  There  are 
so  many  elements  to  be  considered,  that  usually  the  verdict  can  be 
justly  rendered  only  after  a  careful  comparison  with  previous  rec- 
ords. Most  regular  runs  include  a  number  of  stops,  and  are  sub- 
ject to  numerous  slackenings  of  the  speed,  thus  dimming  the  lustre 
of  the  record  of  the  trip  as  a  whole.  Frequently,  quick  runs  which 
have  been  reported  as  noteworthy  have  had  favoring  circumstances 
not  told  of.  The  most  remarkable  single  run  on  record  was  that 
of  Jarrett  &  Palmer's  special  train  chartered  to  carry  their  theatri- 
cal company  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  (Jersey  City  to 
Oakland),  June  1-4,  1876,  which  is  well  known  to  all  Americans. 
Perhaps  the  fastest  long  run  ever  made  in  this  country  was  that  of 
a  special  train  over  the  West  Shore  Railroad  from  East  Buffalo  to 
Frankfort,  N.  Y.,  two  hundred  and  one  miles,  on  July  9,  1885, 
which  ran  this  distance  in  four  hours,  including  several  stops. 
This  train  ran  thirty-six  miles  in  thirty  minutes,  and  ran  many  sin- 
gle miles  in  forty-three  seconds  each.  An  engine  with  two  cars  ran 
over  the  Canada  Southern  Division  of  the  Michigan  Central  from 
St.  Clair  Junction  to  Windsor,  Ont,  on  November  16,  1886,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  seven  miles,  in  ninety-seven  minutes  ; 
and  this  included  two  or  three  stops.  The  average  rate  of  speed 
was  about  sixty-nine  miles  an  hour,  and  in  places  it  rose  to  seventy- 
five  and  over.  The  engineers  and  their  firemen,  and  all  connected 
with  the  handling  of  the  trains,  certainly  deserve  credit  for  per- 
formances like  these,  and  they  receive  it ;  but  the  supplying  of  the 
perfect  machine,  the  smooth  and  safe  roadway  comparatively  clear 
of  other  trains,  and  other  conditions,  is  so  manifestly  beyond  their 
control,  while  at  the  same  time  constituting  such  an  important  fac- 


^^^  1-^^^  p^^^^"^^'^^ 

h  n.^^-  -^-^^_      ^i' 


:<r1 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  ENGINE   RUNNING. 


407 


tor  in  the  result,  that  praise  should  be  given  discriminatingly.  An 
engineer  who  makes  a  specially  quick  trip  feels  proud  of  his  en- 
gine, and  of  the  honor  of  having  been  chosen  for  an  important  run, 
and  he  shares  with  the  passengers  the  exhilaration  produced  by 
such  a  triumph  of  science  and  skill  in  annihilating  space  ;  but  in 
the  matter  of  credit  to  himself  for  experience  and  judgment,  pa- 
tience and  forethought,  he  feels  and  knows  that  many  a  trip  in  his 
every-day  service  is  worthy  of  greater  recognition.  Many  a  runner 
has  to  urge  his  engine,  day  after  day,  with  a  load  twenty-five  per 
cent,  heavier  than  it  was  designed  for,  over  track  that  is  fit  only 
for  low  speeds,  at  a  rate  which  demands  the  most  constant  care. 
He  must  run  fast  enough  over  the  better  portions  of  the  track  to 
allow  of  slackening  where  prudence  demands  slackening.  The 
tracks  of  many  roads  are  rendered  so  uneven  by  the  action  of 
frost  in  winter  that  with  an  unskilful  runner  the  passengers  would 
be  half-frightened  by  the  un- 
steady motion  of  the  cars. 
This  condition  is  not  common 
on  the  important  trunk-lines, 
of  course  ;  but  it  does  prevail 
on  roads  that  carry  a  great 
many  passengers,  neverthe- 
less ;  and  engineers  who 
guide  trains  over  such  diffi- 
cult journeys,  gently  luring 
the  passengers,  with  the  aid 
of  the  excellent  springs  un- 
der the  cars,  into  the  belief 
that  they  are  riding  over  a 
track  of  uniform  smoothness, 
should  not  be  forgotten  in 
any  estimate  of  the  fraternity 
as  a  whole. 

The  engineer  whose  hu- 

"-*  Timely  Warning. 

manlty   is  not  hardened   has 

his  feelings  harrowed  occasionally  by  pedestrians  who  risk  their 
lives  on  the  track.  Tramps  and  other  careless  persons  are  so  nu- 
merous that  the  casual  passenger  in  a  locomotive  cab  generally  can- 


4o8  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

not  ride  fifty  miles  without  seeing  what  seems  to  him  a  hair-breadth 
escape,  but  which  is  nevertheless  treated  by  the  engineer  as  a  com- 
monplace occurrence.  These  heedless  wayfarers  do,  however,  oc- 
casionally carry  their  indifference  to  danger  too  far,  and  they  are 
tossed  in  the  air  like  feathers.*  Doubtless  there  are  those  who, 
like  the  fireman  who  talked  with  the  tender-hearted  young  lady, 
regret  the  killing  of  a  man  chiefly  "because  it  musses  up  the  en- 
gine so  ;  "  but,  taking  the  fraternity  as  a  whole,  warmth  of  heart 
and  tenderness  of  feeling  may  be  called  not  only  well-developed 
but  prominent  traits  of  character.  The  great  strike  on  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  &  Quincy  road  in  1888,  which  proved  to  have  been 
ill-advised,  would  have  been  possible  only  in  a  body  of  men  actu- 
ated by  the  most  loyal  friendship.  Undoubtedly  a  large  conserva- 
tive element  in  the  Brotherhood  of  Eno-ineers  believed  the  move 
injudicious,  but  they  joined  in  it  out  of  an  intense  spirit  of  fidelity 
to  their  brethren  and  leaders. 

The  passenger-train  conductor  has  in  many  respects  the  most 
difficult  position  in  the  railroad  ranks.  He  should  be  a  first-class 
freight  conductor  and  a  polished  gentleman  to  boot.  But  in  his 
long  apprenticeship  on  a  freight  train  he  has  very  likely  been 
learning  how  not  to  fulfil  the  additional  requirements  of  a  pas- 
senger conductorship.  In  that  service  he  could  be  uncouth  and 
even  boorish,  and  still  fill  his  position  tolerably  well ;  now  he  feels 
the  need  of  a  life-time  of  tuition  in  dealing  with  the  diverse  phases 
of  human  nature  met  with  on  a  passenger  train.  He  must  now 
manage  his  train  in  a  sort  of  automatic  way,  for  he  has  his  mind 
filled  with  the  care  of  his  passengers  and  the  collection  of  tickets. 
He  must  be  good  at  figures,  keeping  accounts,  and  handling 
money,  though  the  freight-train  service  has  given  him  no  experi- 
ence in  this  line.  Year  by  year  the  clerical  work  connected  with 
the  taking  up  of  tickets  and  collecting  of  cash  fares  has  been  in- 
creased until  now,  on  many  roads,  an  expert  bank  clerk  would  be 
none  too  proficient  for  the  duties  imposed.  The  conductor  who 
grumblingly  averred  that  "  it  would  take  a   Philadelphia  lawyer 

*  Mr.  Porter  King,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  who  has  run  an  engine  on  the  Boston  &  Albany  road  for 
forty-five  years,  and  who  served  on  the  Mohawk  &  Hudson,  the  Long  Island,  and  the  New  Jersey  Rail- 
roads in  1833-44,  when  horses  were  the  motive  power  and  the  reverse  lever  consisted  of  a  pair  of  reins, 
ran  until  December,  1887,  before  his  engine  ever  killed  a  person. 


TRIALS   OF  A    CONDUCTOR. 


409 


with  three  heads  "  to  fill  his  shoes  was  not  far  out  of  the  way. 
Every  day,  and  perhaps  a  number  of  times  a  day,  he  must  collect 
fares  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  persons  in  less  time  than  he  ought  to 
have  for  ten.     Of  that  large  number  a  few  will  generally  have  a 


The   Passenger  Conductor. 


complaint  to  make,  or  an  objection  to  offer,  or  an  impudent  asser- 
tion concerning  a  fault  of  the  railroad  company  which  the  con- 
ductor cannot  remedy  and  is  not  responsible  for.  A  woman  will 
object  to  paying  halffare  for  a  ten-year-old  girl  or  to  paying  full 
rates  for  one  of  fifteen.  A  person  whose  income  is  ten  times 
larger  than  he  deserves  will  argue  twenty  minutes  to  avoid  paying 
ten  cents  more  (in  cash)  than  he  would  have  been  charged  for  a 
ticket.  Passengers  with  legitimate  questions  to  ask  will  couch 
them  in  vaofue  and  backhanded  terms,  and  those  with  useless  ones 
will  take  inopportune  times  to  propound  them.  These  are  not  oc- 
casional but  every-day  experiences.  The  very  best  and  most  intel- 
ligent people  in  the  community  (excepting  those  who  travel  much) 
are  among  those  who  oftenest  leave  their  wits  at  home  when  they 


4IO  THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 

take  a  railroad  trip.  All  these  people  must  be  met  in  a  concilia- 
tory manner,  but  without  varying  the  strict  regulations  in  the  least 
degree.  The  officers  of  the  revenue  department  are  inexorable 
masters,  and  passengers  offended  by  alleged  uncivil  treatment  are 
likely  to  make  absurd  complaints  at  the  superintendent's  office.  A 
conductor  dreads  an  investigation  of  this  sort,  however  unreason- 
able the  passengers'  complaints  may  be,  because  it  may  tend  to 
show  that  he  lacked  tact  in  handling  the  case.  But  after  becom- 
inor  habituated  to  this  sort  of  dealinors,  there  are  still  left  the  oc- 
casional  disturbances  which  no  amount  of  philosophy  can  make 
pleasant.  These  are  the  encounters  with  drunken  and  disorderly 
passengers.  The  conductor,  starting  at  the  forward  end  of  his 
train,  finds,  perhaps,  in  the  first  car  one  or  two  "toughs"  who  re- 
fuse payment  of  fare  and  are  spoiling  for  a  fight.  Care  must  be 
taken  with  this  sort  of  character  not  to  punish  him  or  use  the  least 
bit  of  unnecessary  severity,  for  he  will,  when  sobered  off,  quite 
likely  be  induced  by  a  sharp  lawyer  to  sue  the  railroad  company 
for  damages  by  assault.  The  conductor,  however,  if  he  be  one 
who  has  (in  his  freight-train  experience)  dealt  with  tramps,  is  able 
to  cope  with  his  customer  and  confine  him  to  the  baggage-car  or 
put  him  off  the  train.  But  a  tussle  of  this  kind  is  at  best  far  from 
soothing  to  the  temper,  and  the  very  next  car  may  contain  the 
wife  of  a  nabob,  who  will  expect  the  most  genteel  treatment 
and  critically  object  to  any  behavior  on  the  part  of  the  conductor 
which  is  not  fully  up  to  the  highest  drawing-room  standard.  Ex- 
periences of  this  kind,  it  can  be  readily  imagined,  are  exceedingly 
trying.  The  conductor  cannot  give  himself  up  completely  to  learn- 
ing gentility,  for  he  still  has  need  for  his  old  severity. 

The  difficulty  of  always  finding  the  ideal  person  when  wanted 
has  led  to  the  employment  of  men  of  good  address  who  have  had 
little  or  no  training  on  freight  trains  ;  so  that  we  find  some  con- 
ductors who  are  able  to  deal  with  all  sorts  of  passengers  with  a 
good  degree  of  success,  but  who  are  far  from  brilliant  as  managers 
of  trains,  technically  speaking  ;  while  others,  who  from  their  early 
experience  have  first-class  executive  ability,  are  slow  in  discarding 
the  somewhat  rough  habits  of  the  freight  train.  While  there  are 
not  wanting  those  who  strive  faithfully  to  reach  the  ideal,  and  suc- 
ceed admirably,  it  may  be  said  that  the  average  conductor  retains 


THE  DUTIES   OF  A    STATION-AGENT.  411 

more  of  the  severe  than  of  the  gentle  side  of  his  character,  at  least 
so  far  as  outward  behavior  goes.  The  rigid  requirements  of  his 
financial  superiors,  which  compel  him  to  actually  fight  for  his 
rights  with  dishonest  and  stingy  passengers,  make  it  almost  im- 
possible that  he  should  be  otherwise.  Ignorant  foreigners,  poor 
women  and  girls  who  have  lost  their  way,  and  other  unfortunates 
are,  however,  encountered  often  enough  to  preclude  the  conduc- 
tor's forgetting  how  to  be  compassionate. 

The  heroic  element  is  not  wholly  lacking  in  the  conductor's 
life.  The  temporary  guardianship  of  several  hundred  people  is  an 
important  trust  even  in  smooth  sailing,  but  the  conductor's  possi- 
bilities are  entirely  different  from  the  engineer's.  He  has  so  much 
to  do  to  attend  to  the  petty  wants  of  passengers  that  their  re- 
moter but  more  important  interests  are  not  given  much  thought. 
The  anxieties  of  a  hundred  nervous  passengers  who  terribly 
dread  the  loss  of  an  hour  by  a  missed  connection  are  much  more 
likely  to  weigh  down  a  conductor's  mind  than  any  thoughts  of  his 
duty  to  them  in  a  possible  emergency  that  will  happen  only  once 
in  five  years.  And  yet  the  last-mentioned  contingency  is  a  real 
one.  Only  last  year,  in  the  great  Eastern  blizzard,  conductors 
risked  their  lives  in  protecting  their  passengers.  One  spent 
three  or  four  hours  in  travelling  a  mile  and  a  half  to  a  telegraph- 
office  ;  in  consequence  of  the  six  feet  of  snow,  the  blinding  storm, 
and  the  darkness,  he  had  to  constandy  hug  a  barbed-wire  fence  to 
avoid  losing  his  way,  and  was  on  the  point  of  exhaustion  when 
he  reached  the  station. 

The  term  "  station-agent "  means,  practically,  the  person  in 
charofe  of  a  small  or  medium-sized  station.  When  one  of  these 
men  is  promoted  to  the  charge  of  a  large  city  station,  either 
freight  or  passenger,  he  becomes  really  a  local  superintendent, 
his  duties  then  consisting  very  largely  in  the  supervision  of  an 
army  of  clerks  and  laborers  who  must,  each  in  his  place,  be  as 
capable  as  the  agent  himself.  The  agent  at  a  small  station  has 
a  great  multiplicity  of  duties  to  perform.  He  must  sell  tickets, 
be  a  good  book-keeper,  and  a  faithful  switch-tender.  He  gener- 
ally must  be  a  telegraph-operator  and  must  be  vigorous  physi- 
cally.     He  must  be  ready,  like  the  conductor,  to  submit  to  some 


412  THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE   OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 

abuse  from  ill-bred  customers,  and  should  be  the  peer  of  the  busi- 
ness men  of  his  town.  He  often  encounters  almost  as  great  a 
variety  of  knotty  problems  as  the  superintendent  himself,  though 
he  has  the  advantage  that  he  can  generally  turn  them  over  to  a 
superior  if  he  feels  unequal  to  them.  The  practical  difficulties 
that  most  beset  him  are  those  incident  to  doing  everything  in  a 
hurry.  People  who  buy  tickets  wait  until  the  train  is  about  to 
start  before  presenting  themselves  at  the  office.  Then  the  agent 
has  a  dozen  other  things  to  attend  to,  and  must  therefore  detect 
counterfeit  ten-dollar  bills  with  the  expertness  of  a  Washington 
treasury-clerk.  Just  as  a  train  reaches  his  station  the  train  de- 
spatcher's  click  is  heard  on  the  wires,  and  he  must  drop  every- 
thing and  receive  (for  the  conductor)  a  telegram  in  which  an  error 
of  a  single  word  would  very  likely  involve  the  lives  of  passengers. 
At  a  very  small  station  the  checking  of  baggage  devolves  on  the 
agent,  his  overburdened  back  being  thus  loaded  with  one  more 
straw.  He  is  in  many  cases  agent  for  the  express  company,  and 
so  must  count,  seal,  superscribe,  and  way-bill  money  packages 
and  handle  oyster-kegs  and  barrels  of  beer  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Women  with  wagon-loads  of  loose  household  effects  to  go  by 
freight,  and  shippers  of  car-loads  of  cattle,  for  which  a  car  must  be 
specially  fitted  up,  will  appear  just  as  the  distracted  station-man  is 
receivino"  a  teleofram  with  one  side  of  his  brain  and  sellinof  a  ticket 
with  the  other.  The  household  goods  must  be  weighed  and 
tagged,  the  sewing-machine  tied  up,  and  tables  repaired ;  the 
cattle-shipper  must  be  given  a  short  lecture  on  the  legal  bearings 
of  the  bargain  for  transportation  which  he  is  about  to  make,  and  his 
demand  that  his  live-stock  shall  be  carried  500  miles  more  quickly 
than  human  animals  are  taken  over  the  same  road  is  to  be  gently 
repressed.  It  is  not  every  day  that  a  small  station  is  enlivened 
by  this  sort  of  excitement,  yet  it  is  common,  and  is  familiar  to 
every  station  agent.  The  variety  in  the  duties  of  this  position  is, 
however,  a  great  advantage  to  the  ambitious  young  man,  because 
it  serves  to  give  him  a  good  lift  toward  a  valuable  business  educa- 
tion. He  can  learn  about  the  methods  and  knacks  and  tricks  of 
many  different  kinds  of  business,  and  can  profit  by  the  knowledge 
thus  gained.  Thomas  J.  Potter,  the  lately  deceased  vice-president 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway,  whose  memory  it  is  proposed  to  per- 


LOVE-MAKING   BY  TELEGRAPH. 


415 


petuate  by  a  bronze  statue,  began  his  railroad  career  as  agent  at  a 
small  station  in  Iowa.  Others  of  equal  ability  and  perfection  of 
character  have  risen  from  similar  places  and  by  the  same  means. 

The  agent  at  a  small  station  catches  his  breath  between  trains. 
There  is  then  generally  ample  time  for  calming  the  nerves  and  pre- 
paring for  the  next  onslaught.  If  he  is  a  telegraph-operator  he 
can  chat  with  the  operators  at  other  stations — a  common  resource 
if  the  wires  are  not  occupied  with  more  important  affairs.  In  the 
class  periodicals  of  operators  and  railroad  men,  reference  to  this 
phase  of  their  life  may  be  constantly  seen,  and  incidents  of  even 
romantic  interest  are  not  infrequent.  Many  of  the  men  at  small 
stations  are  young  and  unmarried,  while  at  places  where  the  busi- 
ness has  increased  enough  to  warrant  the  employment  of  an  assist- 
ant, a  young  woman  to  do  the  telegraphing  is  frequently  the  first 
helper  engaged.  With  this  combination  it  is  unnecessary  to  tell 
what  follows.  If  iron  bars  and  stone  walls  are  things  which  Cu- 
pid  holds  in  contempt,  an  electric  telegraph  wire  is  the  thing 
which  makes  him  "  snicker  right  out,"  if  we  may  use  the  lan- 
guage of  the  circus  ring.  A  distance  of  100  miles,  instead  of 
beinof  a  barrier,  is,  under  these  circumstances,  an  advantag-e. 
There  is,  to  be  sure,  a  slight  disadvantage  in  the  fact  that  any 
tender  communication  confided  to  the  wires  will  be  liable  to  fall  on 
the  ears  of  unfeeling  persons  at  intermediate  offices,  but  the  over- 
coming of  this  obstacle  provides  the  agreeable  incidental  excite- 
ment which  is  always  necessary  in  genuine  love-making.  Young 
persons  (or  old,  either)  can  study  each  other's  characters,  in  im- 
portant phases  at  least,  at  a  distance  better  than  at  short  range. 
The  telegraphic  mode  of  sending  communications  discloses  one's 
disposition  far  better  than  does  handwriting.  Working  on  the 
*  same  wire  with  another  for  a  few  months  enables  one  to  form  judg- 
ments of  that  other's  generosity  or  narrowness,  serenity  or  excita- 
bility, industry  or  laziness,  refinement  or  boorishness,  kindliness  of 
heart  or  otherwise,  which  are  quite  sure  to  be  correct  judgments. 
Judgments  ripen  into  attachments,  and  romances  of  the  wire  are 
common. 

At  the  railroad  station  next  larger  in  size,  the  work  is  more 
divided.  One  man  sells  tickets,  another  attends  to  the  freight 
office,  another  to  the  baggage,  and  so  on.     The  ticket-seller  must 


4i6 


THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 


make  five-cent  bargains  with  the  same  urbanity  that  is  given  to  a 
$ioo  trade,  and  must  be  able  to  toss  off  the  latter  in  two  minutes 
if  occasion  requires,  or  to  spend  an  hour  in  helping  the  passenger 
choose  the  best  route  among  a  score  of  possible  ones.  The  fusilade 
of  questions  that  must  be  met  by  the  ticket-seller  every  time  he 
opens  his  window  is  familiar  to  everyone  who  has  ever  watched  a 
place  of  the  kind  for  ten  minutes.  The  inexperienced  traveller 
wants  to  be  fully  posted  as  to  the  exact  hour  of  departure  of  a  tri- 
weekly stage  with  which  he  is  to  connect  at  a  railroad  station  a  thou- 
sand miles  away,  and  the  more  intelligent  ones  demand  an  oral 
time-table  covering  the  trains  for  the  ensuing  week  on  all  railroads 
within  a  radius  of  50  miles.  Those  who  cannot  read  or  understand 
the  time-tables  are  too  modest  to  ask  aid,  and  their  misfortune  is 
disclosed  only  after  their  train  has  gone  and  they  are  found  in 
tears  ;  while  those  who  can  read  the  table  ignore  it  and  ask  ques- 
tions simply  to  be  sociable. 


The  station  baggage-master  has  an  important  but  rather  thank- 
less place.  He  must  handle  200-pound  trunks  with  as  much  ease 
as  though  they  contained  feathers,  and,  if  he  break  a  moulding  off 

one,  must  meet  the  reproaches 
of  the  owner,  who  imagines  that 
the  time  available  for  handling 
the  trunk  was  five  minutes  in- 
stead of  two  seconds.  He  must 
handle  much  dirty  and  other- 
wise unpleasant  stuff,  and  on  the 
whole  pursue  a  very  unpoetic 
life.  He  has  little  to  do  with 
train-handling,  but  he  "  keeps  in 
with  "  the  trainmen  and  furnishes 
them  with  a  share  of  their  en- 
tertainment. They  lounge  in 
his  room  sometimes  and  he 
keeps  on  tap  a  supply  of  jokes 
such  as  that  about  the  new  brake- 
man  who  sent  to  headquarters  for  a  supply  of  red  oil  for  his  red 
lantern,  and  the  engineer  who  lost  time  with  an  excursion  train  on 


Station  Gardening. 


HUMOR    OF  BAGGAGE-MASTERS. 


419 


tne  Yard  at  Night. 


the  Fourth  of  July  because  the  extremely  hot  weather  had  elongated 
the  rails  and  thus  materially  increased  the  distance  to  be  travelled 
over.  When  "  hot  boxes  "  (friction-heated  axles)  are  given  as  the 
cause  of  a  delay  the  real  cause  of  which  is  concealed  (by  the  conduc- 
tor who  is  ashamed  of  it),  the  baggage-master  gently  punctures  the 
deception  by  suggesting  that  perhaps  a  hot/r^-box  (in  the  engine) 
is  what  is  meant.  Whether  the  roguish  clerk  of  an  inexperienced 
general  manager,  who  slyly  induced  his  chief  to  issue  an  order  to 


420  THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD  MEN. 

Station  agents  directing  that  "  all  freight  cars  standing  for  any 
length  of  time  on  side  tracks  must  be  occasionally  moved  a  short 
distance  in  order  to  prevent  flattening  of  the  wheels,"  had  formerly 
been  a  baggage-master,  history  does  not  state. 

The  switch-tender,  whose  momentary  carelessness  has  many  a 
time  caused  terrible  disaster,  but  whose  constant  faithfulness  out- 
weighs a  million-fold  even  that  painful  record,  is  one  of  the  essen- 
tial figures  around  a  station.  Nothing  but  eternal  vigilance  will 
suffice  to  keep  switches  always  in  safe  position,  and  the  conscien- 
tious custodian  of  these  always  possible  death-traps  often  takes  his 
burden  of  care  to  his  pillow.  The  mishaps  which  do  occur  strik- 
ingly illustrate  the  practical  impossibility  of  holding  the  human 
brain  always  to  the  highest  pitch.  A  conductor  in  New  Jersey 
(trainmen  have  to  set  switches  at  many  places  where  no  switchmen 
are  employed)  recently  caused  a  slight  collision  by  misplacing  a 
switch,  and  on  seeing  the  consequences  exclaimed,  "  I  deserve  to 
be  discharged  ;  my  mistake  was  inexcusable."  And  yet  an  honest 
man  of  that  type  is  the  kind  demanded  for  such  a  place.  The 
interlocking  of  switches  and  signals  (the  arrangement  in  a  frame 
of  the  levers  moving  the  switches  and  those  moving  signals  in 
such  a  way  that  the  signal  which  tells  the  engineer  to  come  on 
cannot  be  given  until  the  switch  is  actually  in  proper  position)  is  one 
of  the  notable  improvements  of  the  last  twenty  years,  and  is  a  great 
boon  to  switchmen,  as  well  as  to  passengers  and  the  owners  of  rail- 
roads.* By  the  aid  of  this  apparatus  and  its  distant  signals,  con- 
nected by  wire  ropeS,  the  switchman's  anxieties  are  reduced  im- 
measurably. By  concentrating  the  levers  of  a  number  of  switches 
in  a  sinp"le  room  one  man  can  do  the  work  of  several,  and  to  the 
looker-on  the  perplexities  of  the  position  seem  to  have  been  in- 
creased instead  of  diminished.  But  the  switchman's  task  now  is  of 
a  different  sort.  Under  the  old  plan  he  was  constantly  on  guard 
lest  he  make  a  mistake  and  throw  an  engine  or  car  off  the  track. 
Under  the  new,  his  calculations  are  chiefly  about  saving  time  and 
facilitating  the  work  of  the  trainmen.  Questions  of  danger  rarely 
come  up,  being  provided  against  by  the  perfection  of  the  ma- 
chinery.    By  long   familiarity  with   the  ground  and  the  ways  of 

*See  "  Safety  in  Railroad  Travel,"  page  204. 


THE   SECTION-MASTER. 


421 


handling  the  trains,  the  switch-tender  in  an  "  interlocking  tower  " 
is  enabled  to  safely  conduct  a  score  of  trains  through  a  labyrinth 
of  switches  in  the  time  that  the  novice  would  take  to  make  the  first 


A   Track-walker  on  a  Stormy   Nignt. 

move  for  a  single  train.  Without  this  admirable  apparatus,  and 
skilful  and  experienced  attendants,  the  business  of  great  stations 
like  the  Grand  Central  at  New  York  would  be  impossible  in  the 
space  allowed. 

One  of  the  habitues  of  every  station  is  the  section-master,  who 
looks  after  three,  five,  or  ten  miles  of  track  and  a  gang  of  from  five 


422  THE  EVERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 

to  twenty-five  men  who  keep  it  In  repair.  He  is  not  much  seen, 
because  he  is  out  on  the  road  most  of  the  time  ;  and  his  duties  are 
not  of  a  kind  that  the  reader  could  study,  on  paper,  to  much  ad- 
vantage ;  but  he  deserves  mention  because  his  place  is  a  really  im- 
portant one.  Railroad  tracks  cannot  be  made,  like  a  bridge,  five 
times  as  strong  as  is  necessary,  and  thus  a  large  margin  be  al- 
lowed for  deterioration ;  they  must  be  constantly  watched  to  see 
that  they  do  not  fall  even  a  little  below  their  highest  standard. 
This  care-taking  can  be  intrusted  only  to  one  who  has  had  long 
experience  at  the  work.  In  violent  rain-storms  the  trackman  must 
be  on  duty  night  and  day  and  patrol  the  whole  length  of  his  divi- 
sion to  see  that  gravel  is  not  washed  over  the  track  or  out  from 
under  it.  Though  roughly  dressed  and  sunburnt,  he  is  an  impor- 
tant personage  in  the  eye  of  the  engineer  of  a  fast  express  train, 
and  if  he  be  the  least  bit  negligent,  even  to  the  extent  of  letting  a 
few  rails  get  a  quarter  of  an  inch  lower  than  they  ought  to,  he 
hears  a  prompt  appeal  from  the  engine-runner.  The  latter  could 
not  feel  the  confidence  necessary  to  guide  his  50-ton  giant  over  the 
road  at  lightning  speed  with  its  precious  human  freight  if  he  had 
not  a  trusty  trackman  every  few  miles  ;  and  passengers  who  feel 
like  expressing  gratitude  for  a  safe  railroad  journey  should  never 
forget  this  unseen  guardian. 

A  number  of  classes  of  men  in  the  railroad  service  must  be 
turned  off  with  a  word  for  lack  of  space.  The  train  despatcher, 
with  his  constant  burden  of  care,  deserves  a  chapter.  The  loco- 
motive fireman,  who  has  not  been  directly  alluded  to,  is  practically 
an  apprentice  to  the  engineer,  and,  like  apprentices  in  some  other 
callings,  has  a  good  deal  of  hard  work  to  do.  He  generally  has 
longer  hours  than  the  engineer,  as  he  has  to  clean  a  portion  of  the 
polished  brass-  and  iron-work  of  the  engine.  He  has  to  throw  into 
the  fire-box  several  tons  of  coal  a  day,  and  gets  so  black  that  his 
best  friends  would  not  know  him  when  washed  up.  Those  who 
begin  young  and  are  intelligent,  and  conserve  their  strength,  are 
at  length  promoted  to  be  engineers.  The  fireman's  twin  brother 
is  the  "  hostler,"  who  is  employed  at  the  larger  termini  to  get  the 
iron  horse  out  of  its  stable,  lead  it  to  the  watering  place  and  feed- 
trough  (coal-bin),  and  harness  it  to  the  train. 

The  clerk  in  the  freight  office  has  almost  as  much  variety  of 


THE  MORAL    WELFARE    OF  EMPLOYEES. 


423 


\L-^^ 


work  as   the    ticket-seller,    and    is    by    no    means  a  mere    book- 
keeper.    The   workmen  at  the  freight  station    are    not    common 
laborers.     Their  work  requires  peculiar  skill  and  experience,  and 
they  have  diversions  worth  tell- 
ing of,  if  there  were  space.     The 
men  in  the  shops,  and  those  who 
go  out  with  derricks  and  chains 
to   pick  up   wrecks,  are  an    im- 
portant class  by  themselves,  and 
bridge  -  builders,   gate  -  tenders, 
and  various  others  bring  up  the 
rear. 

In  conclusion,  railroad  men 
as  a  body  are  industrious,  sober 
when  at  work,  and  lively  when 
at  play,  using  well-trained  minds, 
in  their  sphere,  and  possessing 
capacity  for  a  high  degree  of 
further  training.  The  public  is 
not  without  its  duty  toward  the 
million  or  so  of  men  in  the  railroad  service.  The  liability  to  death 
or  maiming  from  accident  is  such  a  real  factor  in  railroad  men's 
lives  that  the  public,  and  especially  shareholders  in  railroads,  are 
bound  to  not  only  uphold  officers  in  providing  every  possible  ap- 
pliance and  regulation  for  safety,  but  to  demand  the  introduction 
of  such  devices.  Some  of  the  State  railroad  commissioners  have 
done  and  are  doing  noble  service  in  this  direction,  and  should  be 
vigorously  supported  by  their  constituencies.  The  demands  of 
the  public,  re-enforced  by  the  exigencies  of  competition,  have  made 
Sunday  trains  in  many  localities  almost  as  common  as  on  week- 
days, so  that  many  train  and  station  men  work  seven  days  in  the 
week.  In  addition  to  this,  holidays  oftener  increase  their  work 
than  diminish  it,  so  that  there  is  room  for  a  considerable  reform 
in  this  regard. 

The  eeneral  moral  welfare  of  railroad  men  has  received  much 
attention  in  late  years,  and  affords  a  wide  held  for  work  by  all  who 
will.  Many  railroads  have  co-operated  with  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  branches,  started  by  a  few  of  the  employees. 


A  Crossing  Flagman. 


424 


THE   E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  RAILROAD   MEN. 


A  Little  Relaxation. 


in  building-  and  equipping  reading-rooms,  libraries,  etc.,  and  the 
companies  give  many  hundred  dollars  annually  toward  the  support 
of  these  resorts,  which  serve  to  keep  many  a  young  trainman  away 
from  loafing  places  of  a  question- 
able character  or  worse.  Mr. 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  whose  mil- 
lions came  largely  out  of  the  pro- 
fits of  the  New  York  Central  & 
Hudson  River  Railroad,  has  set 
a  good  example  to  other  railroad 
millionaires  in  the  erection  of  a 
building  for  the  employees  of  that 
road  in  New  York  City,  whose 
luxuriousness  is  an  evidence  that 
he  loves  his  neighbor  as  himself, 
even  if  that  neighbor  be  a  plain 
brakeman  earning  but  low  wages. 
That  the  resorts  provided  for  railroad  men  are  appreciated  is  evi- 
denced by  their  records.  Of  the  trainmen  who  regularly  come 
into  the  Grand  Central  Station  in  New  York,  46  per  cent,  are 
members  of  the  Association  occupying  the  building  given  by  Mr. 
Vanderbilt,  and  65  per  cent,  make  use  of  the  rooms  more  or  less 
regularly.  Rooms  in  numerous  other  cities  also  make  encourag- 
ing showings. 

Railroad  officers,  with  their  great  advantages  for  enlighten- 
ment, owe  it  to  themselves  and  their  men  to  see  that  the  thou- 
sands under  them  have  fair  opportunities  for  rising  in  the  world, 
and  that  the  owners  of  the  immense  corporations  which  stand  as 
masters  of  such  vast  armies  fully  understand  their  measure  of  re- 
sponsibility in  the  premises.  Science  and  invention,  machinery 
and  improved  methods,  have  effected  great  changes  in  the  railroad 
art,  but  the  American  nation,  which  travels  more  than  any  other, 
still  recosrnizes  the  fact  that  faithful  and  efficient  nieu  are  an  essen- 
tial  factor  in  the  prosecution  of  that  art.  People  desire  to  deal 
with  a  personality,  and  therefore  wish  to  see  the  personnel  of  the 
railroad  service  fostered  and  perfected. 


STATISTICAL  RAILWAY  STUDIES/ 

By   FLETCHER  W.    HEWES. 

Railway  Mileage  of  the  World — Railway  Mileage  of  the  United  States — Annual  Mile- 
age and  Increase — Mileage  Compared  with  Area — Geographical  Location  of  Rail- 
ways—  Centres  of  Mileage  and  of  Population  —  Railway  Systems — Trunk  Lines 
Compared  :  By  Mileage  ;  Largest  Receipts  ;  Largest  Net  Results — Freight  Traffic 
— Reduction  of  Freight  Rates — Wheat  Rates — The  Freight  Haul — Empty  Freight 
Trains— Freight  Profits — Passenger  Traffic — Passenger  Rates — Passenger  Travel 
— Passenger  Profits — General  Considerations — Dividends — Net  Earnings  per  Mile 
and  Railway  Building — Ratios  of  Increase— Construction  and  Maintenance— Em- 
ployees and  their  Wages — Rolling  Stock — Capital  Invested. 


LTHOUGH  the  United  States  was  the  second 
nation  to  open  a  line  of  railway,  it  operates  to-day 
nearly  half  the  mileage  of  the  world,  and  It  has 
so  many  miles  of  double,  triple,  and  quadruple 
track  that,  were  the  data  of  trackage  available, 
such  a  comparison  would  undoubtedly  show  it  to  more  than 
equal  all  the  rest  of  the  world  combined. 

Below  is  given  a  chart  comparing  the  mileage  of  the  principal 
railway  countries.  The  list  contains  all  countries  having  a  mile- 
age of  over  ten  thousand  kilometers. 


Italy. 

Australia 

Caiuula- 

British  India 

AustriaHungarj'- 

Russla 

France 

Groat  Britain -.- 

Gertnaiiy 

Unitod  States 


23,000  Kilomotors 


Principal    Railway  Countries,  1887. 


125,000 

150,000 


200,000 


i.OOO 
250, 


)00 


The  most  prominent   fact  is  impressed   by  the  very  long  line 
representing  the  mileage  of  the  United  States.     A  second  impres- 

*  Data  drawn  from  "  Poor's  Manual  of  Railroads."  1889,  and  the  "  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United 
States,"  1888,  and  carefully  revised,  form,  in  large  part,  the  basis  of  the  several  studies  ;  and  the  writer 
hereby  expresses  obligation  to  Mr.  John  P.  Meany,  editor  of  the  "  Manual,"  for  kindly  aid  in  his  work. 


426  STATISTICAL  RAILWAY  STUDIES. 

sive  fact  is  that  the  United  States  has  more  than  six  times  the 
mileage  of  any  other  country.  A  third,  that  there  are  but  five 
other  countries  that  have  even  a  tenth  as  much  railway. 

RAILWAY  MILEAGE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Total  Annual  Mileage  and  Increase. — On  page  429  is  given 
a  chart  which,  beginning  with  the  23  miles  of  1830  and  ending 
with  the  156,082  miles  of  1888,  delineates  our  ever-increasing 
total  mileage.  It  also  portrays  the  fluctuations  in  the  number  of 
miles  built  annually.  This  latter  study  is  the  more  interesting, 
especially  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  which  cover  the  periods 
of  extreme  activity. 

Mileage  Compa^'ed  with  Area. — The  shaded  map  on  the  same 
page  pictures  the  railway  mileage  of  each  State  as  compared  with 
its  total  area.  The  eleven  States  bearing  the  deepest  shade  (5) 
are  those  having  the  larger  proportions  of  mileage  to  area.  Of 
these.  New  Jersey  stands  first,  having  almost  exactly  one-fourth  of 
a  mile  of  railroad  for  each  square  mile  of  land.  The  proportion  of 
total  area  occupied  by  this  mileage  is  measured  to  the  eye  by  the 
accompanying  diagram. 

The  entire  square  stands  for  one  square  mile  of  land,  and  the 
space  at  the  upper  left-hand  corner  stands  for  that  part  of  the 
square  mile  which  the  railroad  occupies,  counting  from  fence  to 

fence  on  each  side  of  the  road.    This  com- 

Mileage  to  Area  in  New  Jersey,  .  .  ...  - 

parison  is  made  on  the  basis  of  one  hun- 
dred feet  for  the  "right  of  way"  (the 
width  allowed  in  government  grants),  and 
is  useful  in  connection  with  the  study  of 
the  historical  maps,  especially  those  of 
1880  and  1889,  on  which  the  area  of  some 
of  the  States  seems  to  be  nearly  all  taken 
up  with  roads,  owing  to  the  small  scale  of 
the  maps.  Iowa  has  the  smallest  propor- 
tion of  any  in  Group  5.  The  figures  show  her  proportion  to  be  a 
little  over  one-seventh  of  a  mile  of  road  to  one  square  mile  of  area. 
(Nevada  has  the  smallest  proportion  of  all  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories, viz.,  a  trifle  over  y-j-y  of  a  mile  of  line  to  one  square  mile.) 


CENTRES   OF  MILEAGE.  427 

That  part  of  the  map  bearing  the  deepest  shade  shows  at  a 
glance  that  an  unbroken  beh,  averaging  some  two  hundred  miles 
wide,  stretching  from  Cape  Cod  to  beyond  the  Mississippi  River, 
is  that  part  of  the  country  best  supplied  with  railways. 

The  lighter  shades  grouped  on  either  side  of  this  belt  show 
how  the  mileage  grades  away  north  and  south. 


GEOGRAPHICAL    LOCATION    OF    RAILWAYS. 

On  pages  430  to  433  is  a  series  of  historical  maps  showing 
the  location  of  railway  lines  at  each  census-year  from  1830  to 
1880,  and  in  1889.  Charts  comparing  and  ranking  the  mileage 
by  States  accompany  the  maps  of  1870,  1880,  and  1889.  These 
maps  and  charts  give  a  better  idea  of  the  location  and  extent  of 
progress  than  could  be  given  by  a  dozen  pages  of  description  and 
a  hundred  columns  of  figures. 

Cejitre  of  Mileage  ajid  of  Populatio7i. — The  space  for  notes 
on  the  maps  permits  the  bare  mention  of  the  meaning  of  the  series 
of  stars  in  the  1889  map  (page  433),  which  mark  the  centres  of 
mileage  and  of  population.  It  is  well  to  state  the  manner  of  de- 
termining the  centres  of  mileage,  that  it  may  have  its  proper 
bearing  in  any  study  of  the  subject  into  which  the  showing  may 
enter. 

The  locations  are  necessarily  approximate.  Each  centre  was 
determined  by  selecting,  on  the  proper  map,  a  line  running  east 
and  west  which  seemed,  to  the  eye,  to  nearly  divide  the  mileage 
into  equal  parts.  The  sum  of  the  mileage  of  the  States  north, 
was  then  compared  with  that  of  the  States  south  of  the  line. 
By  this  means  the  position  of  the  line  chosen  by  the  eye  was 
corrected  and  the  right  parallel  determined.  The  meridian  divid- 
ing the  total  mileage  into  equal  parts  was  ascertained  in  like 
manner.  The  point  of  intersection  of  the  parallel  and  meridian  is 
marked  in  the  map  by  a  star,  having  the  proper  date  printed  to 
the  right  of  it. 

The  upper  series  of  stars  locates  the  centres  of  railway  mile- 
age, and  the  lower  series  the  centres  of  population,  as  given  by 
the  returns  of  the  census  of  1880. 


428 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


The  following  table   describes  the  several   locations  thus  as- 
certained: 


Ce?itres  of  Railway  Mileage. 

Date. 

Latitude. 

Longitude. 

Approximate  location  by  towns. 

1840. . 
1850.. 
i860.. 
1870.. 
1880. . 
1888.. 

40°  50'  N. 
41°  30'  N. 
40°  40'  N. 
41°  10'  N. 
41°  05'  N. 
39°  50'  N. 

76°  10'  W. 
77°  27'  W. 
82°  30'  W. 
84°  35'  W. 
86°  50'  W. 
88°  40'  W. 

Twenty  miles  west  of  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa. 

T\vent3'-five  miles  northwest  of  Williamsport,  Lycoming  County, 

Ten  miles  south  of  Mansfield,  O. 

Paulding,  Paulding  County,  O. 

Thirty  miles  northwest  of  Logansport,  Ind. 

Pontiac,  111.,  about  ninety  miles  S.  S.  W.  of  Chicago. 

Pa. 

The  remarkable  movement  of  the  centre  of  mileage  from  1850 
to  i860  is  easily  understood  when  one  turns  to  the  maps  of  those 
dates  (page  430)  and  locates  the  fields  of  activity.  The  wonderful 
increase  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa  gave  the 
Western  impulse,  while  the  growth  in  Tennessee  and  the  States 
south  of  it  furnishes  the  principal  explanation  of  the  southerly 
motion. 

Although  the  study  of  this  period  is  the  most  interesting  of 
the  series,  in  the  space  passed  over,  yet  each  period  has  its  points 
of  special  interest,  which  the  reader  will  easily  solve  by  referring 
to  the  proper  maps  on  pages  430  to  433. 

Railway  Systems. — The  consolidation  of  separate  lines  under 
central  controlling  interests  has  resulted  in  several  "  systems  "  of 
great  extent.  Five  such  are  mapped  on  pages  434  and  435.  The 
roads  controlled  by  them  are  printed  in  broad  lines,  while  all  others 
are  printed  in  narrow  lines.  It  needs  but  a  glance  to  see  whether 
any  of  them  has  so  far  absorbed  the  roads  of  a  given  region  as 
to  be  able  to  control  rates.  The  systems  selected  are  believed  to 
be  representative  ones,  and  the  mapping  of  a  dozen  others  would 
not  tell  the  story  any  more  plainly. 


TRUNK  LINES  COMPARED. 


Compared  by  Mileage. — At  present  there  are  twenty-four  cor- 
porations reporting  over  one  thousand  miles  of  line  each.  A  com- 
parison of  these  roads  by  mileage  is  profitless,  as  it  furnishes  no 
just  clew  to  their  importance  in  point  of  business  transacted. 
Several  of  the  shorter  of  these  twenty-four  lines  largely  exceed 


some  of  the  lonorer  ones  in  the  volume  of  business  transacted. 

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Chicago,   Milwaukee    and    St.  Paul    System,   1889. 


Chicago,    Burlington    and    Quincy    System,    1889 


go    and    Northwestern    System,    1889. 


Pennsylvania    System,    1889. 


Vanderbilt    System,   1889. 


Siu.oco.ouo 


Ill.Crnt.  > 

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lA.T.iSi.F. 
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l-.i  N. 
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15  N.VA..VII.K. 
14  Penn.  K.  of  P. 
i:i  D.  A  R.ii. 
U'  A.T.&  St.F. 
11  N.V.L.K.iW. 
In  III.  Ont. 

•>{■.  K.  LAP. 

s  K.T.  V.iU 

7  L.&  N. 

fit.  S..S:  .M.S. 

.■i  C.  .iii  -S.  W. 

4!U.Vsnf. 

3  N.Pacif. 

2  SC.L.  &  San  K. 

1   Si.  P.M.  A  M. 


l.'3,7Sl>,l 
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$2U,0OU,0OO 


Largest  Receipts,  18E 

(S.i-  pnu-e  4.17,  f..l|..wlnp> 


$30,000,000 


910,000,000 


$50,000,000 


3;i.43 
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436 


REDUCTION  OF  FREIGHT  RATES.  437 

an  example  of  the  little  value  of  comparison  by  mileage,  the  New 
York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Road,  with  but  1,421  miles  of  line, 
reports  $63,132,920  receipts,  while  the  Union  Pacific,  with  6,288 
miles,  reports  but  $19,898,817.  Two  of  the  twenty-four  roads, 
viz.,  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  (5,931  miles)  and  the  Rich- 
mond, West  Point  &  Terminal  Railroad  (6,869  miles)  report 
neither  gross  or  net  earnings.  The  remaining  twenty-two  report 
both,  and  these  reports  furnish  a  satisfactory  basis  for  study. 

Largest  Receipts.- — -A  comparison  on  the  basis  of  gross  receipts 
gives  the  best  means  of  judging  of  the  financial  importance  of  the 
several  roads,  for  it  measures  the  volume  of  business  done.  On 
page  435  is  given  such  a  comparison  of  the  fifteen  roads  (of  the 
twenty-two  referred  to  above)  reporting  the  largest  gross  receipts. 

Largest  Net  Results. — While  the  gross  receipts  measure  the 
volume  of  business  they  may  not  give  any  indication  of  net  re- 
sults. A  chart,  immediately  under  that  comparing  gross  receipts, 
compares  the  net  receipts  of  the  fifteen  roads  (of  the  same  twenty- 
two)  which  report  the  highest  per  centages. 

Of  the  ten  reporting  largest  net  results,  seven  are  west  of 
Chicago.  This  fact,  coupled  with  the  desire  of  the  great  western 
systems  to  possess  new  territory  in  advance  of  others,  suggests  a 
reason  for  the  large  railway  growth  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

FREIGHT  TRAFFIC. 

The  gross  traffic  receipts  of  the  railways  of  the  United  States 
are  divided  between  freight  and  passenger  business  in  very  nearly 
the  proportion  of  three  to  one  in  favor  of  the  freight  traffic.  For 
this  reason,  and  because  the  data  are  still  more  largely  available  on 
the  same  side,  the  freight  service  receives  herein  the  fuller  treat- 
ment. 

Reduction  of  Freight  Rates. — On  the  opposite  page  is  a  chart 
delineating  the  fluctuations  in  freight  rates  since  1870.  To  one 
not  familiar  with  the  subject  the  picture  presented  is  a  most  re- 
markable one.  It  looks  as  though  the  roads  are  all  in  a  mad 
scramble  to  see  which  can  reach  the  bottom  of  the  hill  first.  To 
railway  managers  the  picture  is  a  painful  reminder  of  a  serious 
struggle,  the  end  of  which  no  one  can  yet  predict. 


438 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


The  lines  selected  are  representative  lines  of  the  east  and  west 
divisions  of  the  country,  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  where  the  great 
number  of  competing  roads  has  induced  sharp  competition. 

The  history  of  the  averages  is  very  clear,  and  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  they  are  steadily  approaching  common  ground,  for  while  in 
1870  the  eastern  average  marked  almost  exactly  one  cent  six 
mills,  the  western  marked  two  cents  four  mills,  a  separation  of 
eight  mills  ;  in  18S8  they  recorded  seven  mills  and  a  trifle  over 
nine  mills,  a  separation  of  about  one-quarter  of  the  1870  record. 

Wheat  Rates. — The  chart  below  repeats  the  lesson  of  the 
larger  chart  as  to  reduction  of  rates.  The  persistency  with 
which  water  rates  have  kept  below  rail  rates,  emphasizes  the 
fact  that  wherever  water-ways  exist,  they  are  stubborn  com- 
petitors for  such  freight  traffic  as  will  not  suffer  by  the  longer 
time  required  for  the  journey. 


Average  Freight  Rates 
Wheat  from 
York. 


oil 


1870     1871      1872     18  73     1874     1875     1076      1877     1878     1879     1880      18  81       1882     1883     1884     1885     1886     1887      1888 


The  Freight  Haul. — It  costs  as  much  to  load  and  unload  a 
train  that  hauls  its  freight  ten  miles  as  it  does  one  that  carries  it  a 
thousand  miles.  In  other  words,  the  longer  the  haul  the  less  the 
proportional  cost  to  the  carriers.  The  great  extension  of  long 
lines  westward  in  the  last  few  years  naturally  raises  the  question 
whether  the  average  freight  haul  has  increased.  The  largely  di- 
minished rates  suggest  that  probably  producers  have  been  led 
thereby  to  ship  both  agricultural  and  manufactured  products 
greater  distances  to  market.  One  or  both  of  these  conditions 
may  have  operated  favorably  for  some  roads,  but,  plausible  as 
the  theories  seem,  the  facts  prove  that  neither   of  them   is   sup- 


EAST  AND    WEST  BOUND  FREIGHT. 


439 


Average  Number  of  Miles  each  Ton  of 
Ffeignt  was  Hauled. 


•J 


1882       1883       1884      1885       1886      1897       1888 


ported  in  a  study  of  the  average  haul  of  the  country.  The  avail- 
able figures  permit  us  to  go  back  only  to  1882.  Within  that  period 
the  little  chart  given  herewith  deline- 
ates the  fluctuations,  but  indicates  no 
permanency  in  either  direction.  It  is 
a  matter  of  regret  that  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  studies,  the  history  is  not 
available  for  earlier  years,  as  the  more 
extended  the  view  the  better  the  judg- 
ment of  such  questions  becomes. 

Empty  Freight  Trains. — One  of  the  considerable  items  of  ex- 
pense in  the  freight  traffic  is  that  of  returning  empty  cars  to  their 
point  of  starting.  Just  how  large  an  item  this  is  depends  chiefly 
upon  the  demands  of  the  population  at  either  end  of  the  operating 
line  for  the  product  of  the  population  at  the  opposite  end.  Thus 
the  carriage  of  the  great  agricultural  product  of  the  West  to  feed 
the  denser  population  of  the  East,  and  for  export  to  foreign  coun- 
tries, may  or  may  not  be  met  by  the  demand  of  the  western  peo- 
ple for  the  manufactures  of  the  East  and  the  imports  from  foreign 
countries  arriving  at  the  eastern  seaboard.  It  is  scarcely  proba- 
ble that  any  line,  short  or  long,  running  east  and  west  or  north 
and  south,  finds  its  traffic  in  opposite  directions  balanced. 

An  interesting  study  of  this  problem  is  presented  in  the  accom- 
panying   chart,    the  road  selected  for  the  illustration    being    one 


Percentage  of  East-Bound  and  West-Bound  Freight  carried  by  the  Lake  Sho-e 
and  Michigan  Southern  Railway  Co. 


W' 


1877      187E 


1D79      1890       1B31       1382      1033      1Q34      1835      1S36       1337      188£ 


of  the  large  carriers  between   Chicago  and   Buffalo.     The  upper 
chart-line   marks  the    proportion  of  freight  carried  from  west  to 


440 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


east,  while  the  lower  line  (at  the  top  of  the  shaded  part  of  the  dia- 
gram) marks  the  portion  carried  from  east  to  west.  It  is  readily 
seen  that  in  1877  the  west-bound  freight  was  less  than  half  as 
much  as  the  east-bound,  for  they  stand  30.8  per  cent,  and  69.2  per 
cent.,  respectively  ;  and  in  1878  the  difference  is  still  greater.  From 
that  year,  however,  there  has  been  great  improvement,  so  that 
now  it  would  appear  that  there  is  on  that  road  a  much  diminished 
need  for  hauling  empty  cars.  The  history  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Road  is  similar  to  that  shown  in  the  chart,  but  the  ratios  have  not 
come  so  nearly  together.  That  of  the  New  York  Central  & 
Hudson  River  Road  shows  very  little  change  in  the  ratios  since 
1870,  and  all  the  time  both  these  roads  report  a  very  large  excess 
of  east-bound  freight. 

Freight  Profits. — The  change  in  rates  are  of  great  moment  to 
the  producer ;  that  of  profits  is  the  important  one  to  the  carrier. 
No  matter  how  great  the  reduction  of  rates,  if  the  reduction  of  ex- 
pense is  as  great,  the  profits  are  not  disturbed.  This  question 
can  be  studied  best  by  examining  the  figures  which  measure  the 
actual  profits.  But  few  corporations  furnish  such  figures,  and  the 
two  whose  history  is  delineated  on  the  accompanying  chart  are 
among  those   giving  the   most  readily  available   data.     It  will  be 


1870      1871      1872     1873     1874     1875      1876     1877     1878     1879     1880      1881      1882   I  1883     1884     1885      1886     1887    1868 


seen  that  the  reduction  of  profits  is  no  less  remarkable  than  the  re- 
duction of  rates,  which  shows  that  the  reduction  of  rates  has  far 
exceeded  that  of  expense  of  carriage  ;  for,  had  the  reduction  of  ex- 
penses kept  pace  with  that  of  rates,  the  profits  would  have  remained 
level.  As  it  is,  the  reduction  of  profits  in  the  history  of  these  roads, 
as  shown,  is  from  about  six  mills  per  ton  per  mile  in  1870,  to  about 
two  mills  in  1888.     These  two  roads  are  probably  good  represent- 


VARIATION  IN  PASSENGER  RATES. 


441 


atives  of  the  experience  of  the  general  freight  service  of  all  rail- 
ways north  of  the  Ohio   River.     If  so,  the  prospect  of  the  future 


of  freight  traffic  is  not  cheerful. 


PASSENGER   TRAFFIC. 

The  study  of  passenger  traffic  is  less  satisfactory  than  that  of 
freight  traffic.  Fewer  lines  furnish  a  history  of  their  passenger 
rates,  and  ordinarily  those  histories  cover  shorter  periods.  The 
study  is  therefore  confined  to  narrower  limits  and  its  lessons  are 
necessarily  less  conclusive. 

Passeiigci'  Rates. — Below  is  given  a  chart  interpreting  the  avail- 
able data  of  six  representative  lines.     The  first  lesson  impressed  is 


that  no  such  reduction  marks  the  history  of  passenger  rates  as  is 
shown  in  freight  rates,  althouofh  the  g-eneral  trend  of  the  chart-lines 
is  plainly  downward.  The  line  indicating  the  average  rate  for  all 
the  roads  in  the  country  (marked  U.  S.  in  the  chart)  shows  a  re- 
duction of  over  one-fourth  of  a  cent  per  passenger  per  mile  since 
1882. 

Certain  features  of  this  chart  attract  special  attention.  The  re- 
duction of  rates  by  the  Pennsylvania,  and  the  New  York  Central 
&  Hudson  River  roads  in  1876,  and  that  by  the  same  roads  in 
1885,  are  suggestive.  Equally  noticeable  are  the  reductions  of 
the  Illinois  Central  in  1871,  1872,  1880,  and  i888.- 

This  chart  would  seem  to  indicate  that  competition  has  not 
operated  as  sharply  on  passenger  as  on  freight  traffic. 

Passenger  Travel. — The  average  distance  that  passengers  ride 
is  not  as  important  an  element  of  railway  business  as  is  the  aver- 


442 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


age  freight  haul,  for  the  passengers  load  and  unload  themselves  ;  so 
that,  whether  they  ride  few  or  many  miles,  the  cost  of  loading  and 
unloading  is  neither  increased  nor  diminished.  On  the  contrary,  if 
a  thousand  tons  of  freight,  once  loaded,  is  to  be  hauled  one  hun- 
dred miles  instead  of  fifty,  the  proportional  cost  of  loading  and  un- 
loading is  reduced  one-half 

Still,  the  average  distance  passengers  ride  is  important ;  for,  if 
the  number  of  passengers  remains  the  same  and  their  ride  is  short- 
er, the  receipts  are  diminished.  The  returns  show  that  while  the 
number  of  passengers  has  increased  since  1882  about  fifty-six  per 
cent.,  the  total  miles  travelled  have  not  increased  quite  fifty  per 
cent.,  marking  a  falling  off  in  the  average  number  of  miles  each 

passenger  rode.  The  reduction  is 
graphically  shown  in  the  little  chart 
eiven  herewith.  This  result  is  no 
doubt  largely  due  to  the  great  in- 
crease of  suburban  travel  which  has 
developed  about  our  large  cities  with- 
in the  past  few  years. 

It  is  necessary  to  state,  however, 
that  the  figures  embraced  in  this  study  do  not  include  the  traffic  of 
the  elevated  roads  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 

Passenger  Profits. — Again  a  marked  difference  between  freight 
and  passenger  traffic  appears  in  comparing  the  chart  given  below 
with  the  corresponding  chart  on  page  440. 


Average  Number  of  Miles  each  Passenger        1 
was  Carried,                                    1 

27 

^ 

2C     / 

^ 

^ 

SE. 

■■^ 

24  Milt*                           i               ; 

^1 

1682  1  1883       1884      188S      1886   |  1887  |  1888   | 

1  cent 

Profit  per  Passenger 

per 

Mile 

1  cent 

9  mills 

' 

9  mills 

\    1 

8  mill! 

.K 

A 

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!  mills 

7  mills 

p-: 

/    V: 

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V 

\ 

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ia70|l871      1072|l873    1874.  |  1875   |  1876  |  1877 

1878 

1879  liaeO  1  1881 

1882 

1883    1884     1885 

1886 

1887 1 1888 [ 

The  study  covers  the  history  of  the  same  roads  in  each  case. 
The  history  of  freight  profits  shows  a  persistent  falling  off,  which 


AVERAGE   DIVIDENDS. 


443 


in  the  nineteen  years  amounts  to  four  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  a  loss 
of  two-thirds  of  the  six  mills  of  1870.  The  history  delineated  on 
this  chart  shows  the  average  profit  of  the  two  roads  to  be  almost 
exactly  at  the  same  point  that  it  was  in  1870,  while  the  profits  for 
most  of  the  intervening  years  have  been  much  greater. 

Were  this  the  record  of  the  freight  traffic,  it  would  be  much 
more  gratifying  to  the  managers  of  the  roads,  for  the  New  York 
Central  &  Hudson  River  Railway  receives  about  twice  as  much, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  receives  four  times  as  much,  from 
freights  as  from  passengers.  Attention  is  invited  to  the  opposite 
results  of  the  same  policy  on  these  two  roads  in  1876.  The  chart 
of  passenger  rates  on  page  441  marks  a  decided  reduction  of  rates 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Road,  and  a  slight  reduction  by  the  New  York 
Central  &  Hudson  River  Road.  The  chart  of  profits  records  an 
increase  for  the  former  and  a  decrease  for  the  latter.  This  year 
(1876)  is  the  date  of  the  Centennial  World's  Fair  at  Philadelphia. 
The  Pennsylvania  Road  had  an  enormous  increase  of  passenger 
traffic  (double  that  of  the  following  year),  a  record  which  it  did 
not  equal  until  1887.  The  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River 
Road  had  but  a  slightly  increased  traffic,  the  record  of  which  it 
passed  in  1881. 

GENER/VL   CONSIDERATIONS. 

Dividends. — While  many  readers  arc  probably  not  holders  of 
railway  stocks,  yet  a  look  at  the  dividends  received  by  those  who 
are  will  not  be  without  interest.  The  little  chart  given  below  tells 
an  interesting,  although  a  not  over-attractive  story. 


Average  Dividend  Paid  on  Total  Capital  Stock.            1 

2K;^  \.               ..-^^^      '                  '     *"^<.. 

1                i 

2 

^    1 

-- 

2;* 

!'-■ 

1876 

1877    j   1873  1   1879   ,    1880  j    I80I       1082       1803      1884      1885   |   1886 

1807 

laee 

It  shows  that,  comparing  the  aggregate  of  all  the  railroad 
stocks  of  the  country  with  the  aggregate  of  all  dividends  paid, 
the  holders  of  stock  realized  an  average  of  3.03:^  on  their  invest- 
ment in    1876.     In  1S78  it  had  fallen  to  less  than  2AI     From  that 


444 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


date  to  1885  the  record  makes  a  curve  ending  just  above  2^.  A 
slight  rally  is  indicated  for  1886  and  1887,  but  1888  carries  it  down 
to  1.81^.  The  stock  of  many  roads  has  paid  no  dividend  what- 
ever these  later  years,  and  the  lines  whose  stock  proves  a  good 
investment  at  par  are  very  few. 

Net  Earnings  per  Mile. — Although  the  studies  of  the  financial 
question    already  made  undoubtedly  point   out  the   true   drift  of 


Net  Earnings  and  Mileage  Built. 


railway  business,  yet  one  more  comparison  is  worth  making,  both 
for  its  bearing  on  the  question  of  profits  and  the  study  of  the  in- 
fluence of  profits  on  railway  building.  The  upper  one  of  the  two 
charts  given  herewith  is  the  record  of  net  earnings  per  mile  of 
road  in  operation,  and  is  based  on  the  reported  net  earnings  less 
the  interest-charge.  It  therefore  shows  the  average  number  of 
dollars  each  mile  had  earned,  after  paying  all  expenses  and  the  in- 
terest on  its  debt.  This  money,  then,  is  the  clear  amount  each 
mile  could  apply  each  year  to  pay  the  principal  of  its  debt  and 
the  dividends  on  its  capital  stock,  or  to  use  for  improvements,  such 
as  rolling  stock,  stations,  better  road-bed,  new  rails,  or  any  other 
betterments  which  might  seem  advisable. 

In  1876  this  sum  was  $1,264;  in  1880  it  was  $1,798,  since 
which  time  it  has  suffered  a  serious  decline,  until  in  1888  it  was 
only  $650.  It  is  the  story  of  the  previous  studies  repeated,  and 
needs  no  further  reiteration. 


GROWrir  IN  MILEAGE    AXD    TRAFFIC.  445 

Railway  Btiilding. — The  larger  chart  given  on  page  429, 
gives  the  history  of  railway  building  from  1831  to  1888.  The 
lower  chart  of  the  two  given  together  on  page  444,  repeats  the 
•  annual  record  from  1876,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  in- 
fluence of  profits  on  the  progress  of  building.  The  net  earn- 
ings per  mile  show  a  reduction  in  1877.  The  following  year 
shows  an  increase  of  earnings,  and  the  building  responded  some- 
what feebly  the  same  year.  The  next  two  years  (1S79  and  1880) 
show  great  gains  in  net  earnings,  and  the  impetus  given  thereby 
to  building,  carries  its  increase  steadily  forward  even  two  years 
beyond  the  turning-point  of  the  earnings.  The  decline  is  then 
mutual  to  1885.  In  1886  the  advance  in  earnings  was  responded 
to  by  such  a  remarkable  increase  in  building  that  the  stimulus 
is  to  be  sought  for  partly  outside  of  the  increase  of  earnings, 
and  is  undoubtedly  found  in  the  desire  to  occupy  the  newly 
opening  fields  of  western  settlement ;  for  the  records  mark  un- 
paralleled activity  among  the  great  trunk  lines  of  the  West  in 
pushing  their  advances  in  Dakota,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Col- 
orado, in  1886  and  1887.  This  is  graphically  shown  in  the 
map  of   1889,  when  compared   with   that  of  1880  (pages  432  and 

433)- 

Ratios  of  Increase. — It  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  just  impression  of 

values  when  expressed  by  figures  alone.  It  is  easy  when  these 
values  are  expressed  in  lines  or  colors.  The  greater  difficulties 
come  in  the  effort  to  compare  values  expressed  in  differing  terms. 
To  read  that  the  increase  of  population  was  23,400,000  from 
1870  to  1888;  and  that  of  railway  mileage  was  62,785  miles;  and 
that  of  freight  traffic  was  nearly  30,000,000,000  tons,  in  the  same 
period,  and  then  to  attemjjt  the  comparison  of  increase  without 
further  aid,  is  a  hopeless  task. 

As  a  study  of  financial  econom\-  the  comparison  is  worth  mak- 
ino",  for  evidence  of  the  over-development  of  an  industry  or  a  finan- 
cial interest,  rightly  considered,  may  prevent  suicidal  development. 
The  chart  given  on  the  next  page  makes  the  comparison  easy. 
The  actual  increase  in  each  instance  is  reduced  to  percentages,  and 
the  several  chart-lines  measure  the  progress.  The  increase  of 
population  is  estimated  on  the  basis  of  62,000,000  persons  in  1888. 
(So  far  as  the  lesson  conveyed  by  the  chart  is  concerned,  the  esti- 


446 


STATISTICAL   RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


mate  might  as  well  have  been  60,000,000,  the  variation  in  the  loca- 
tion of  the  line  would  be  trifling.) 

It  appears,  then,  that  railway  mileage  has  increased  nearly  two 
hundred  per  cent,  and  that  the  rate  of  increase  of  freight  traffic* 
(as  measured  by  ton-miles  *)  has  been  enormously  larger,  consid- 
ering the  history  of  the  thirteen  trunk  lines  as  indicative  of  the 
whole.  It  further  appears  that  the  freight  traffic  of  the  West  has 
developed  much  more  rapidly  than  that  of  the  East,  during  the 
last  eight  years. 


Construction  and  Maintenance. — The  tabulated  statistics  of 
these  subjects  are  not  of  special  interest,  as  the  annual  variation  of 
cost  is  slight.  In  both  these  elements  the  wage-question  is  so 
large  a  factor  that  a  comparative  level  is  maintained  from  year  to 
year.  The  available  figures  touching  these  subjects  are  few.  The 
first  table  on  the  opposite  page  gives  the  average  cost  of  construc- 
tion per  mile  of  the  total  mileage  of  the  country  j  and  the  cost  of 
maintenance  per  mile  as  reported  by  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie 
&  Western  Road.  The  second  table  furnishes  interesting  details 
of  the  cost  of  maintenance. 

Employees. — This  item  is  also  one  touching  which  railways 
make  few  reports.  The  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Road 
reports  as  follows  :  "  Average  number  of  employees,  20,659,  being 
at  the  rate  of  14.54   per  mile  of  road  worked;  aggregate   wages, 

*  A  ton-mile  means  a  ton  of  freight  hauled  one  mile  ;  ten  ton-miles,  a  ton  of  freight 
hauled  ten  miles,  or  two  tons  hauled  five  miles. 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  MAINTENANCE. 


447 


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448 


STATISTICAL  RAILWAY  STUDIES. 


$12,460,708.89,  or  $603.16  each.  Payments  in  wages  equalled 
50.60  per  cent  of  the  total  working  expenses,  against  51.90  per 
cent,  in  1886-87."  Reckoning  that  each  employee's  wages  sup- 
ports an  average  of  three  persons,  we  have  a  total  of  61,977  per- 
sons clothed,  housed,  and  fed  by  this  one  corporation. 

"  Poor's  Manual  "  discusses  this  subject  at  some  length,  but 
mainly  on  theoretical  ground. 

Rolling  Stock. — A  table  showing  the  history  of  the  growth  of 
the  rolling  stock  of  the  country  is  given  on  page  148  ;  it  is  there- 
fore unnecessary  to  repeat  it  here. 

Capital  Invested. — It  is  folly  for  the  human  mind  to  attempt  to 
grasp  the  immensity  of  the  financial  interest  expressed  in  the  state- 
ment, that  the  combined  capital  invested  in  the  railways  of  the 
United  States  is  $9,369,398,954.  No  more  can  it  comprehend 
that  this  vast  aggregate  has  been  the  growth  of  about  fifty  years 
in  a  single  interest,  in  a  single  country. 


Capital  Invested. 


Year. 

Capital. 

Year. 

Capital. 

1876 

1877 

1878    

$4,468,592,000 
5,106,202,000 
4,772,297,000 

4,872,017,000       ; 
5,402,038,000 
6,278,565,000 
7,016,750,000 

1883 

$7,477,866,000 

1884 

7,676,399,000 
7,842,533,000 
8,163,149,000 
8,673,187,000 

9,369>399,ooo 

1885 

1886 

1870       . 

1880       ... 

.   1887 

1881 

1888 

1882 

The  first  date  in  the  table  marks  the  close  of  the  first  century 
of  our  national  life.  Since  that  time  the  investment  has  more  than 
doubled  ;  an  increase  of  nearly  five  billion  dollars  in  twelve  years — ■ 
an  average  of  over  four  hundred  million  dollars  per  year.  More 
exactly  expressed,  this  means  $1,118,906  per  day,  or  $46,621  for 
every  hour,  day  and  night,  during  the  first  twelve  years  of  our 
second  century. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  other  financial  interest  shows  a  total  of 
such  wonderful  magnitude.  And  with  greater  emphasis  may  it 
be  said,  that  the  finances  of  the  world,  record,  in  all  the  ages,  to 
the  present  day,  no  such  astounding  increase  of  investment. 


INDEX. 


Accidents,  chances  of,  loi 

at  crossings,  408 

from  coupling  cars,  223,  392 

investigation  of,  399 

to  railway  bridges,  26 

South  Norwalk,  221 

statistics  of,  260 

to  trainmen,  393 

to  trains,  origin  of,  167 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  104,  367 
Air-brake,  193,  195 
Allen,  Horatio,  2,  4,  102 
Arbitration  between  railways  and  their  em- 
ployees, 376,  381 
Armstrong,  Colonel  G.  G.,  316 
Atkinson,  Edward,  43, 
Auditor's  duties,  180,  183 

Baggage-check  system,  253 
Baggage-master,  work  of,  416 
Baggage  service,  abuses  in,  179 
Baggage  transportation,  253 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  132 
Ballast  of  a  railway,  -yj 
Baltimore  &  Ohio,  the,  103 

cars,  139 

early  passenger-trains,  230 

in  1830,  loi 
Bangs,  George  S.,  317 
Bell-cord  train-signal,  237 
Bessemer,  Sir  Henry,  37 
Bessemer  steel,  invention  of,  yj 
Blaine,  James  G.,  323 
Blair,  Montgomery,  317 
Block-signal,  automatic,  215 

system,  168,  213 
Boilers,  construction  of,   114 
Bonds  and  stock,  relative  position  of,  354 


Brake,  air-,  193,  195 

advantages  of  air-,  387 

improvements  suggested  to  air-,  199 

American,  202 

and  coupler,  237 

Beals,  202 

chain,  193 

continuous,  195 

early  forms  of,  192 

electric,  194 

hand,  193  ;  perils  of,  3S7  ;  how  to  man- 
age, 388 

hydraulic,  193 

steam  driver-,  192 

trials  at  Burlington,  200 

vacuum,  193,  195 

water,  202 

Westinghouse  air-,  193,  195 
Brakemen,  characteristics  of,  384 

duties  of,  394 

life,  agreeable  and  disagreeable  features 
of,  386,  389 

passenger-train,  advantages  of,  396 

pleasures  of,  394 

wit  of,  the  result  of  meditation,  385 
Bridges,  railway,  accidents  to,  26 

American  iron,  28 

American,  development  of,    27  ;  length 
of,  24,  26 

American  wooden,  27 

and  culverts,  how  built,  22 

Bismarck,  86 

Britannia,  79 

builders,  423 

cantilever,  2,2)^  88 

connecting  two  tunnels,  55 

connections,  types  of,  85 

foundations  by  crib  or  open  caisson,  75 


450 


INDEX. 


Bridges,   foundations  by  pneumatic  cais- 
son, 69 

foundations,  how  made,  32,  67 

foundations  under  water,  67 

gangs,  work  of,  155 

great,  over  canons  and  valleys,  55 

guard-rails  and  frogs  for,  221 

Hawkesbury  River,  32 

Howe  truss,  27 

how  to  build  safe,  31 

Kentucky  River,  34,  55,  88 

Kinzua,  30 

Lachine,  92 

masonry  arch,  76 

Niagara  cantilever,  34,  90 

Portage,  78 

Poughkeepsie,  32,  34 

steel  truss,  development  of,  85 

strength  of,  29 

St.  Louis,  93 

trusses,  types  of,  86 

tubular,  80 

typical  American  truss,  86 

Verrugas,  55 

Victoria,  80 

Washington,  over  Harlem  River,  ']'] ,  94 

wooden,  78 

wood,  stone,  and  iron,  25,  26 
Bridgers,  R.  R.,  340 
Bridgewater,  Duke  of,  345 
Broken  trains,  dangers  of,  388 
Burr  &  Wernwag,  27 

Caissons  for  bridge  foundations,  how 
made,  32,  69 

open,  75 

pneumatic,  69 
Camden  &  Amboy  locomotives,   106 
Cameron,  Simon,  prediction  of,  232 
Campbell,  Henry  R.,  109 
Cantilever  bridges,  33,  88 
Capital  invested  in  railways,  344,  448 
Car-accountant,  and  the  transportation  de- 
partment, 275 

office  of,  271 
Car-accounting,  benefits  of  a  good  system, 

280 
Car-builders'  dictionary,  147 
Car-couplers,  imperfections  of,  140 

need  of  uniformity  in,  141 


Car-coupling,  accidents  from,  223,  392 
Cars,  American  and  English,  7 

American,  evolution  of,  139 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  freight-,  139 

different  kinds  of,  146 

old,  discomforjts  of,  234 

distribution  of,  171,  279 

empty,  distribution  of,  279 

first  American  passenger-,  139 

first  sleeping-,  140 

for  special  uses,  289 

freight-,  wanderings  of  a,  267 

heating  by  gas,  226 

heating  by  steam,  226 

heating,  methods  of,  245 

lighting  safely,  226 

mileage  and  records,  158 

mileage  charges,  273 

Mohawk  &  Hudson  passenger-,  139 

number  of,  in  the  United  States,  148 

records  of  movement,  171 

service  charges,  per-diem  plan,  29 

service  of,  payment  for,  293 

service  records  and  reports,  276 

tracers  for,  279 

trucks,  7  ;  invention  of,  108 

use  and  abuse  of,  281 
Car-wheels,  European,  144 

how  made,  142 

paper,  145 
Cassatt,  A.  J.,  340 
Check  system  for  baggage,  253 
Chief  engineer,  duties  of,  154 
Chimbote  Railway  in  the  Andes,  50,  53 
Civil  service  reform  in  the  mail  service,  340 
Classifications  of  freight,  176 
Clerks,  railway,  422 
Cofifer-dam  foundations  for  bridges,  67 
Commissions  to  passenger  agents,  179 
Competing  points  and  pools,  364 
Concentration  of  power,  351 
Conducting  transportation,  159 
Conductors,  freight,  trials  of,  398 

heroism  of,  41 1 

passenger,  408 
Consolidation,  effects  of,  351 

tendency  to,  346 
Construction  companies,  355 
Contractors,  railway,  work  of,  21 
Conveniences  at  stations,  259 


INDEX. 


451 


Cooley,  Judge  Thomas  M.,  368 
Cooper,  Peter,  104,  231 
Council,  proposed  railway,  380 
Couplers  and  brakes,  237 

imperfections  of,  140 

uniform  automatic,  223 
Coupling  cars,  accidents  from,  223,  392 
Coupon  tickets,  254 

misunderstood,  254 
Cox,  S.  S.,  323 
Cranes,    large     travelling,  in     locomotive 

shops,  132 
Crib  foundations  for  bridge  piers,  75 
Crises  of  1873  and  1885,  effects  of,  356 
Crossings,  accidents  at,  408 

protection  for,  216 
Cullom,  Senator  S.  M.,  368 
Culverts,  building  of,  22 

log,  25 

masonry,  76 

on  American  railways,  24,  26 
Curves,  American  and  European  railway,  8 

least,  8 
Cutting,  largest  ever  made,  56 
Cylinders,  locomotive,  construction  of,  117 

Darwin,  Erasmus,  2 

Davis  &  Gartner,  106 

Davis,  Phineas,  106 

Davis,  W.  A.,  317 

Death  and  accident  provisions  for  postal 

clerks,  343 
Delays  in  a  long  journey,  267 
Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Company,  loi 
Demurrage  charges,  296 
Derailing  switches,  use  of,  207 
Derailments  of  trains,  causes  of,  218 
Destructive  force  of  a  locomotive  at  high 

speed,  187 
Detector-bar  for  switches,  205 
Differentials,  175 
Dining-cars,  introduction  of,  243 
Discipline  necessary  on  a  railway,  y]"] 
Distribution  of  cars,  171,  279 
Dividends,  average,  on  railway  stock,  443 
Drawbridge  accidents,  221 
Driving-wheels,  large  and  small.  12S 

Eads,  Captain  Jamks  B.,  64,  93 
Eames  vacuum  brake,  195 


Eccentric,  operation  of,  118 

Educational    institutions    for   railway   em- 
ployees, 379 

Electric  annunciator  for  signals,  209 

Electric  lights  for  cars,  226 

Electricity  applied  to  brakes,  194 

Elevated  Railroad,  New  York,  97 

Employees,  railway,  benefit  funds,  378 
permanent  and  temporary,  375 
promotion  of,  376 

number  of,  in  the  United  States,  43,  370 
permanency  of  service  during  good  be- 
havior, 376 
relations  of,  to  the  railway,  357 
representative  system  for,  380 
rights  and  privileges  of  permanent,  376 
to  have  a  voice  in  management,  379 
wages  of,  448 

Engineer,  the,  as  a  public  benefactor,  46 
civil,  qualifications  of,  i  5 
responsibilities  and  duties  of,  98 

Engineering,  good,  true  test  of,  60 

Ericsson,  John,  2 

Facing  and  trailing  point  switches, 

219 
Facing-point  locks,  205 
Fast  freight  lines,  287 
Fast  mail  service,  appropriations  for,  t,}>1 
Fast  mail  train,  trip  with,  323 
Fast  runs,  remarkable  instances,  404 
I    Fast  time  on  railways,  conditions  of,  128 
;    Field  &  Hayes,  34 
;    Fink,  Albert,  365 
Fisk,  James,  Jr.,  353 
Flagging  trains,  390 
Foot-guard  for  frogs,  222 
Foreign  cars,  theory  and  practice  in  their 

use,  279 
Foster,  Rastrick  &  Company,  102 
Free-pass  system,  362 
Freight-car  wanderings,  267 
classifications  and  rates,  176 
conductor  and  his  trials,  398 
department,  organization  of,  282 
engines,  saving  fuel  on,  402 
empty  trains  of,  439 
handlers  at  stations,  423 
movement,    accidents    in,    293  ;   cost   of 
delays  in,  293 


452 


INDEX. 


Freight  profits,  440 

rates,  reduction  of,  358  ;  438 
traffic,  437  ;  how  handled,  180 

Freight  trains,  air-brakes  for,  200 

transportation,  needs  of  the  service,  297 

Fuel,  saving,  on  freight-engines,  402 

Garrett,  John  W.,  351 
Gate-tenders  on  the  railway,  423 
General  Freight  Agent,  172 
General  Manager,  duties  of,  154 
General  Passenger  Agent,  172 
Geographical  location  of   railways  in  the 

United  States,  427 
Goold,  James,  139 
Grades,  limit  of,  8 
Grand  Central  Station  interlocking  signals, 

208 
Grand  River  canon,  54 
Granger  movement,  363 
Guard-rails  and  frogs  for  bridges,  221 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  323 
Hampson,  John,  231 
Harrison,  Joseph,  Jr.,  4 
Hawkesbury  River  bridge,  32 
Heater-cars,  Eastman,  289 
Heating  cars,  245 
Highway  crossing  accidents,  216 

crossing  gates,  217 
Holley,  Alexander  L.,  y] 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  63 

Hospital  funds  for  railway  employees,  378 
Hotel-cars,  244 
Howe-truss  bridges,  27 

Immigrant  sleeping-cars,  251 
Inclined  planes  for  overcoming  elevations, 

58 
Injectors,  principle  of,  116 
Insurance  funds  for  railway  employees,  378 
Interchange  of  cars,  methods  of,  272 
Interlocking  bolts,  uses  of,  221 

signals  and  switches,  204 
Interstate  commerce  law,  173,  368 

Commerce  Commission  and  its  work,  368 
Investigation  of  accidents,  399 
Investors  and  managers,  relations  of,  357 

difficult  position  of,  354 
Irregular  hours  of  work,  399 


Jameson,  John,  317,  323,  342 

Janney  car-coupler,  237 

Jervis,  John  B.,  4,  107 

Johnson,  R.  P.,  339 

Judgment,  value  of,  in  a  locomotive  runner, 

407 
Junction-cards  and  car-reports,  278 

Kentucky  River  cantilever  bridge, 

34,  55,  88 
King,  Porter,  408 
Kinzua  Bridge,  30 

Lachine  Bridge,  92 

Latimer,  Charles,  221 

Latrobe,  Benjamin  H.,  8 

Layng,  J.  D.,  319 

Legal  department  of  a  railway,  duties  of, 

152 
Lighting  cars,  safe  methods,  226 
Lincoln,    Abraham,  in    the   first  sleeping- 
car,  240 
Link  motion  for  locomotive  valves,  119 
Location,  approximate,  15 

final,  18 

how  governed,  16 

in  old  and  new  countries,  17 

importance  of,  15 
Locomotives,  ability  to  climb  grades,  8 

American  type,  origin  of,  109 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  "grasshopper,"  106 

boiler  construction,  115 

cab,  what  is  in  it,  131 

capacity  to  draw  loads,  120 

consolidation,  122 

cost  of  running,  307 

cylinders,  how  supplied  with  steam,  117 

decapod,  122 

destructive  force  of,  at  high  speed,  187 

"  DeWitt  Clinton,"  105 

driving-wheels,  how  made,  142 

earliest  American,  2 

early  eight-wheeled,  105 

engineer,  the  duties  and  qualifications  of, 
137  ;  peculiarities  of,  134  ;  duties  and 
dangers  of,  400  ;  spirit  of  fraternity  of, 
408 

English  type  of,  3 

equalizing  levers,  4 

fireman,  422 


INDEX. 


453 


Locomotives,  first  trial  of,  in  America,  103 
fuel,  303  ;  consumption,  135 
hostler,  422 

how  to  start  and  stop,  120 
"John  Bull,"  106 
Mogul,  122 

number  of,  in  the  United  States,  148 
Peter  Cooper's,  104 
prize  offered   for,   by   the    Baltimore  & 

Ohio,  105 
pumps  and  injectors,  116 
"  Rocket,"  I 
running,  systems  of,   134;  cost  of,  158, 

159 

running  gear,  adjustment  of,  114;  flex- 
ible, 113 

shops,  132 

size,  weight,  and  price,  126 

speed,  law  of,  127 

suburban  traffic,  124 

ten-wheeled,  122 

trials,  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway, 

2,3 

truck,  invention  of,  4,  107 

types  of,  109 

valve  motion,  1 18 
London  Underground  Railway,  97 
"  Long  and  short  haul,"  173 

Mail  service,  railway,  civil    service  re- 
form in,  340 

Mail  train,  fast,  317 

Managers  and  investors,  relations  of,  357 

Masonry  arch  bridges,  76 

Massachusetts  Railroad    Commission    and 
traffic  questions,  367 

Master   Car   Builders'   Association  brake- 
trials,  200 
type  of  car-coupler,  223 

Master  car-builder's  duties,  158 

Master  mechanic's  work,  157 

Master  of  transportation,    duties  of,    159, 
171 

Mexican  Central  Railway,  56 

Mileage  balances,  reduction  of,  273 

Miller  coupler  and  buffer,  237 

Miller,  Ezra,  237 

Milling  in  transit,  175 

Model  railway  service,  375 

Mohawk  &  Hudson  passenger-cars,  139 


Mont  Cenis  Tunnel,  63 
Moral  standard  on  the  railway,   improve- 
ment in,  384 
Mount  Washington  Railway,  58 
Mountain  climbing  by  rack  railways,  58 
railways,  49 

National  regulation  of  railways,  367 
Newell,  John,  340 
New  York  Elevated  Railways,  97 
Niagara  cantilever  bridge,  34,  90 

suspension  bridge,  8i 
Nochistongo  cut,  56 

Operating  department  of  a  railway, 

importance  of,  373 
Oroya  Railway  in  the  Andes,  50,  53 
Outram,  Benjamin,  345 

Paper  car-wheels,  145 
Passenger  advertisement,  first,  229 
brakeman,  396 
burned  in  wrecks,  225 
cars,  early,  231  ;  English  and  American, 
232  ;  first  American,  139  ;    manufact- 
ure of,  252  ;  Mohawk  &;  Hudson,  139 
conductor,  408 
fares,  comparative  rates,  265 
profits,  442 

rates  and  commissions,  17 
tickets,  old,  236 
traffic,  442 
trains,  first,  228  ;  early  American,  230  ; 

making  time  on,  403 
travel,  362  ;    amount  of,  264  ;  safety  of, 
in  England  and  America,  260  ;  speed 
of,  249 
Pay-car,  trip  of  the,  309 
Pay,  increase  of,  for  faithful  service,  378 
Paymaster's  work,  308 
Parallel  roads,  356 
Pensions  for  railway  employees,  378 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  shops   at   Altoona, 

«32 

maintenance  of  track,  41 

system,  371 
Permanent  service  of  a  railway,  375 
Pile-driver,  work  of  a,  22 
Pile  foundations  for  bridges,  68 
Plant,  H.  B.,  340 


454 


INDEX. 


Pneumatic  caissons  for  bridge  foundations, 
69 

interlocking  apparatus,  210 
Poetsch  method  of  building  foundations  for 

bridge  piers,  32 
Pooling  rates,  184 
Pools  and  competing  points,  364 

railway,  origin  and  nature  of,  364 
Pope,  Thomas,  2,1 
Portage  Bridge,  78 
Postal  cars,  325 

first  used,  316 

provision  against  accident  in,  338 
Postal  clerks,  accidents  to,  338 
Postal  progress,  object  lesson  in,  312 
Postal  service,  early  history,  313 
Potter,  Thomas  J.,  412 
Poughkeepsie  cantilever  bridge,  32,  34 
Predecessors  of  the  railway,  loi 
Premiums  to  section-men,  41 
Promotion  of  employees,  376 
Pullman,  George  M.,  239 

Palace  Car  Company,  242 

sleeper,  first,  241 
Purchasing  agent's  varied  duties  and   ex- 
perience, 300 

Rails,  development  of,  47 
increased  weight  of,  122 
iron,  first  used,  i,  y] 
joints  for,  37 

steel,  first  introduction,  37 
supply  and  renewal  of,  306 
weight  which  they  will  carry,  121 

Railroading  fifty  years  ago,  100 

Railways,  American,  key  to  the  develop- 
ment of,  3  ;  rolling  stock  of,  148  ;  and 
'    English,  essential  differences,  10 
amount  of  capital  invested  in,  344 
and  their  employees,  nature  of  relations, 

374 
and  democracy,  45 
and  their  customers,  358 
beginning  of,  345 
building,  cost  of,  43;  example  of  rapid, 

44  ;   history  of,  445 
competition  of,  174  ;  with  canals,  347 
consolidation,  174,  346 
council,  proposed,  380 
division  of  expenses  on,  359 


Railways,  earnings,  average  net,  per  mile, 

444 

earliest,  i  ;  in  America,  103 

early  systems  of  management,  346 

economic  view  of,  45 

educational  institutions,  379 

employees,  permanent  and  temporary, 
375  ;  general  characteristics  of,  423  ; 
moral  welfare  of,  423  ;  a  typical,  383 ; 
wages  of,  448 

growth  of,  346 

income,  sources  of,  180 

influence  on  the  world,  149 

mail  first  carried  on,  314 

mail  service,  growth  of,  314  ;  importance 
of,  323  ;  needs  of,  341  ;  organization 
of,  323  ;  party  injury  to,  341 

management,  development  of,  150;  in 
Europe,  184  ;  organization  and  divi- 
sion of  authority,  151  ;  results  expected 
from,  184;  special  departments  of, 
372  ;  stability  of,  184  ;  subdivisions  of, 

men's  building  in  New  York,  424 
mileage,   comparative,   of  the   principal 

countries,  425  ;  of  the  United  States, 

426 
national  idea  developed  by,  348 
national  regulation,  367 
officers'  duties  and  responsibilities,  151 
organization     analyzed,     185  ;    complex, 

183  ;  growth  of,  371 
personnel,  importance  of,  424 
place   in  the  modern   industrial  system, 

344 

postal  clerks'  dangers,  337  ;  just  claims, 
343  ;  need  of  provision  against  disa- 
bility, 339  ;   work,  334 

relations  of,  to  their  employees,  357 

shop-men,  423 

State  ownership  of,  362 

statistics  of,  425 

systems,  428 

the  largest  single  industrial  interest,  370 

United  States,  extent  of,  43 

"  wars  "  between,  361 
Randall,  Samuel  J.,  323 
Rates  and  rebates,  173 

causes  of  reduction,  358 

combinations  and  adjustments,  176 


INDEX. 


455 


Rates,  forced  reductions,  363 

how  made  and  regulated,  176 

inequalities  of,  359 

passenger,  and  commissions,  178 

plans  for  regulating,  362 

special,  wars  over,  177 

without  a  natural  standard,  360 
Reagan,  John  H.,  36S 
Reconnoissance,  13 
Refrigerator  cars,  289 

Representation  for  railway  employees,  380 
Restriction  of  railways,  tendency  to,  369 
Ride  on  a  locomotive  at  night,  188 
Righi  Railway,  59 

Road-bed  of  a  railway,  how  made,  21 
Roadway  department  of  a  railway,  154 
Roberts,  George  B.,  340 
Roebling,  John  A.,  82 
Rolling  stock,  growth  of,  448 
Routine  of  the  railway  mail  service,  325 
Rutter,  J.  H.,  340 

Safety  appliances,  railway,  191 

devices  needed,  423 
St.  Gothard  Tunnel  and  spirals,  6^ 
St.  Louis  Bridge,  64,  93 
Schneider,  C.  C,  34 
Scott,  Thomas  Alexander,  319,  349 
Scrap-heap,  value  of,  302 
Section-master's  duties,  421 
Section-men's  work,  156 
Semaphore  signals,  203 
Shepard,  General  D.  C.,  44 
Signals  and  switches,  interlocking,  168,204 

automatic  block,  215 

block  system,  168,  213 

semaphore,  203 

torpedo,  213 
Sleeping-car  rates,  comparative,  266 
Sleeping-cars,  first  experiments,  239 

immigrant,  251 

Pullman,  239,  242 
Smith,  Colonel  C.  Shaler,  34,  88 
Snow-sheds  and  fences,  18 
South  American  mountain-railways,  50 
South  Carolina  Railway,  104 

early  passenger  trains,  231 
Special  rates,  177,  361 

Spoils  system,  how  it  works  in  the  railway 
mail  service,  342 


Spreading  of  rails,  220 

State  ownership  of  railways,  362 

State  regulation  of  railways,  362,  363 

Station  agent's  duties,  411 

Station  indicators,  259 

Station,  large,  work  at,  415 

small,  work  at,  41 1 
Stationery  and  blanks,  quantity  used  on  a 

railway,  304 
Statistics,  railway,  425 
Steam  driver-brake,  192 

how  distributed  to  the  cylinders,  117 

shovel,  work  of,  21 

supply  and  speed,  relations  of,  129 
Steel  bridges,  29 
Steel  rails,  first  introduction,  37 
Steel  truss-bridges,  development  of,  85 
Stephenson,  George,  i,  2,  3,  228,  346 

Robert,  i,  2,  3,  79,  192 
Stock  and  bonds,  relative  position,  354 
Storekeeper's  duties  on  a  railway,  307 
Stockton  &  Darlington  passenger  train,  228 
"  Stourbridge  Lion,"  102 
Strikes,  evils  of,  374 
Superintendent,  duties  of,  274 

of  machinery,  powers  and  duties,  157 
Supply  department,  298 

importance  of,  311 
Supplies,  aggregate  of,  on  a  railway,  299 

variety  required  for  a  railway,  301 
Surveying  party,  life  of,  13 

from  a  rope-ladder,  50 
Surveys,  preliminary,  13 
Suspension  bridges,  81 
Switchbacks  and  loops,  8  ;   types  of,  9,  10 
Switches,  interlocking,  420 

stub,  accidents  caused  by,  21S 
Switch-tender's  work,  420 

Telegraph  in  railroading,  23S 
Thompson,  William  B.,  317,  322,  342 
Thomson,  Frank,  43,  340 
Thomson,  J.  Edgar,  349 
Through  and  local  freight,  288 
Through  lines,  growth  of,  348 
Tickets,  cost  of,  on  a  railway,  305 

coupon,  254 

old,  236 

sales  and  reports,  182 
Ties  and  timber  supplies,  306 


456 


INDEX. 


Time,  fast,  instances  of,  404 

making,  on  passenger  trains,  403 

Time-tables,  cost  of,  305 
earliest  American,  235 
how  made,  160 

Torpedo  signals,  213 

Track,  early  experiments  with,  36,  37 
how  laid,  36 

how  maintained  and  kept  in  order,  38 
inspection  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 

41 

laid  on  stone,  36 

standards  of  excellence,  41 
Trackmen's  duties,  38 

organization  and  officers,  41 
Track-walker's  duties  and  trials,  422 
Trade  centres,  advantages  of,  360 
Traffic,  how  influenced  and  secured,  172 

manager,  duties  of,  172 

questions  and  the    Massachusetts   Rail- 
road Commission,  367 

receipts,   how   returned   and    accounted 
for,  182 
Train  despatcher  and  his  work,  163,  422 
Train  despatching,  162 

old  and  new,  187 
Train  orders  and  rules,  164 
Train  signals,  bell-cord  and  other,  237 
Train  work,  irregularity  of,  399 
Trainmen,  accidents  to,  393 

and  tramps,  386 
Trains,  rules  for  running,  162 
Tramways,  Roman,  of  stone,  i 
Transfer  freight  stations,  288 
Transportation,  cost  of,  43 

conducting,  159 

department  and  the  car-accountant,  275 
Trestles,  wooden,  78 
Trevithick,  Richard,  2 
Tribunal,  proposed,   for   adjusting   differ- 
ences between  railways  and  their  em- 
ployees, 376 
Trucks  for  cars,  7,  108 

for  locomotives,  4,  107,  109 
Trunk  lines  compared,  428 
Trunk-line  pool,  origin  and  history,  365 
Truss-bridge,  typical  American,  86 
Tubular  bridges,  80 
Tunnels,  59 


Tunnels,  American,  23 
connected  by  a  bridge,  55 
difficulties  of  construction,  62 
great,  62 
how  avoided,  23 
located  by  triangulation,  53 
Mont  Cenis,  63 
St.  Gothard,  63 

Underground  Railway,  London,  97 
Union  Pacific  Railway   system,  extent  of, 
370 

Vacuum-brake,  193,  195 
Vail,  Theodore  N.,  317,  322 
Valleys,  how  crossed  by  a  railway,  49 
Valve-motion  arrangements,  118 
Vanderbilt  business  methods,  351 
Vanderbilt,  Commodore,  318,340 
Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  350,  424 
Vanderbilt,  William  H.,  318,  340 
Verrugas  Viaduct,  55 
Vestibule  train,  luxury  of,  248 

as  a  safety  device,  224 
Viaducts,  American  metal,  79 
Victoria  Bridge,  80 

Waddell,  a.,  323 

Wagner  Palace  Car  Company,  242 

Wagon  cars,  290 

War,  the  late,  effect  of,  on  railway  growth, 

348 
Washington  Bridge  over  the  Harlem  River, 

n,  94 
Waste  and  saving  in  supplies,  302 
Water-jet  method  of  sinking  piles,  68 
Watt,  James,  i 
Way-bill  and  its  theory,  181 
Westinghouse  air-brake,  195,  196 
Westinghouse,  George,  Jr.,  200,  237 
West  Point  Foundry  as  a  locomotive  shop, 

104 
Whipple,  Squire,  28 
Winans,  Ross,  7,  108 

Yardmaster's  duties,  283 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Rail- 
way Department,  424 


-  >y.;. 


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